Section 158 — Required Contents of a Criminal Charge
Statutory text (Thai original)
ฟ้องต้องทำเป็นหนังสือ และมี
(๑) ชื่อศาลและวันเดือนปี
(๒) คดีระหว่างผู้ใดโจทก์ผู้ใดจำเลย และฐานความผิด
(๓) ตำแหน่งพนักงานอัยการผู้เป็นโจทก์ ถ้าราษฎรเป็นโจทก์ให้ใส่ชื่อตัว นามสกุล อายุ ที่อยู่ ชาติและบังคับ
(๔) ชื่อตัว นามสกุล ที่อยู่ ชาติและบังคับของจำเลย
(๕) การกระทำทั้งหลายที่อ้างว่าจำเลยได้กระทำผิด ข้อเท็จจริงและรายละเอียดที่เกี่ยวกับเวลาและสถานที่ซึ่งเกิดการกระทำนั้น ๆ อีกทั้งบุคคลหรือสิ่งของที่เกี่ยวข้องด้วยพอสมควรเท่าที่จะให้จำเลยเข้าใจข้อหาได้ดีในคดีหมิ่นประมาท ถ้อยคำพูด หนังสือ ภาพขีดเขียน หรือสิ่งอื่นอันเกี่ยวกับข้อหมิ่นประมาท ให้กล่าวไว้โดยบริบูรณ์หรือติดมาท้ายฟ้อง
(๖) อ้างมาตราในกฎหมายซึ่งบัญญัติว่าการกระทำเช่นนั้นเป็นความผิด
(๗) ลายมือชื่อโจทก์ ผู้เรียง ผู้เขียนหรือพิมพ์ฟ้อง
English translation
A charge must be made in writing and contain: (1) the name of the court and the date; (2) the case, stating who is plaintiff and who is defendant, and the offence charged; (3) the position of the public prosecutor who is plaintiff, or, if a private person is plaintiff, that person's given name, surname, age, address, nationality and status; (4) the given name, surname, address, nationality and status of the defendant; (5) the acts alleged to have been committed by the defendant, the facts and particulars relating to the time and place of those acts, and the persons or things involved, sufficient to enable the defendant to understand the charge properly; in a defamation case, the words spoken, writing, drawing or other thing relating to the defamation shall be stated in full or attached to the charge; (6) a citation of the section of law providing that such an act is an offence; (7) the signature of the plaintiff, the drafter, and the person who wrote or typed the charge.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This is the core drafting standard for criminal charges in Title 1. It lists the seven mandatory elements, of which paragraph (5), a sufficiently detailed statement of the alleged acts, time, place and persons or things involved, and paragraph (6), citation of the offence-defining section, are the most frequently litigated. The test under (5) is whether the defendant can understand the charge well enough to defend it. Under (6), only the section that actually defines the act as an offence must be cited, so provisions dealing with forfeiture or sentence enhancement need not appear. A charge that fails these requirements is defective and falls to be dealt with under Section 161.
Why this matters in practice
For anyone bringing or defending a criminal case, Section 158 is the checklist against which a charge stands or falls. A defendant should scrutinise whether the acts, time and place are described clearly enough to defend, and whether the correct offence-defining section is cited, while remembering that omitting a forfeiture or sentence-enhancement provision is not a fatal defect. Because private prosecutions are drafted by the complainant's lawyer, precise drafting here is critical. See what to know before going to court in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6511/2567 (2024)
A provision that merely mandates forfeiture, rather than defining the act as an offence, is not a section that must be cited under Section 158(6). The court may still order forfeiture under that provision even though it was not cited in the charge.
The plaintiff sought forfeiture of a vehicle used to transport uncustomed currency but did not cite Section 165 of the Customs Act 2017 in the prayer. The Court held that provision is not an offence-defining section under Section 158(6), so the court could still order forfeiture as that provision requires regardless of whether anyone was convicted.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6187/2567 (2024)
Provisions on increasing the punishment of a repeat offender are not sections defining an act as an offence, so they need not be pleaded in the charge under Section 158(6). Citing the wrong enhancement section number is merely a clerical error.
The prayer cited Penal Code Section 92 while the applicable enhancement was Section 93(13). The Court held that sentence-enhancement provisions are not offence-defining sections falling under Section 158(6), so the mismatch was a mere clerical error and did not require the enhancement to be pleaded.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What must a criminal charge contain in Thailand?
Under Section 158 a charge must be in writing and state the court and date, the parties and offence, the plaintiff's and defendant's details, the alleged acts with sufficient particulars, the offence-defining section, and the required signatures.
Does a charge have to cite every legal section, such as forfeiture or sentence enhancement?
No. Section 158(6) requires only the section that defines the act as an offence. Provisions dealing with forfeiture or increasing punishment need not be cited in the charge.