Section 89/2: Alternative methods of serving imprisonment
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่มีเหตุจำเป็น เมื่อพนักงานอัยการ ผู้บัญชาการเรือนจำ หรือเจ้าพนักงานผู้มีหน้าที่จัดการตามหมายจำคุกร้องขอ หรือเมื่อศาลเห็นสมควร ศาลจะมีคำสั่งให้จำคุกผู้ซึ่งต้องจำคุกตามคำพิพากษาถึงที่สุดที่ได้รับโทษจำคุกมาแล้วไม่น้อยกว่าหนึ่งในสามของกำหนดโทษตามที่ระบุไว้ในหมายศาลที่ออกตามคำพิพากษานั้น หรือไม่น้อยกว่าสิบปี ในกรณีต้องโทษจำคุกเกินสามสิบปีขึ้นไปหรือจำคุกตลอดชีวิต โดยวิธีการอย่างหนึ่งอย่างใด ดังต่อไปนี้ก็ได้
(๑) ให้จำคุกไว้ในสถานที่อื่นตามที่บุคคลดังกล่าวร้องขอหรือตามที่ศาลเห็นสมควรนอกจากเรือนจำหรือสถานที่ที่กำหนดไว้ในหมายจำคุก ทั้งนี้ ลักษณะของสถานที่ดังกล่าวให้เป็นไปตามที่กำหนดในกฎกระทรวงซึ่งต้องกำหนดวิธีการควบคุมและมาตรการเพื่อป้องกันการหลบหนีหรือความเสียหายที่อาจเกิดขึ้นด้วย
(๒) ให้จำคุกไว้ในเรือนจำหรือสถานที่ที่กำหนดไว้ในหมายจำคุกหรือสถานที่อื่นตาม
(๑) เฉพาะวันที่กำหนดตามหลักเกณฑ์และวิธีการที่กำหนดในกฎกระทรวง
(๓) ให้จำคุกโดยวิธีการอื่นที่สามารถจำกัดการเดินทางและอาณาเขตของผู้นั้นได้ตามหลักเกณฑ์และวิธีการที่กำหนดในกฎกระทรวงในการพิจารณาของศาลตามวรรคหนึ่ง ให้ศาลคำนึงถึงฐานความผิด ความประพฤติ สวัสดิภาพของผู้ซึ่งต้องจำคุก ตลอดจนสวัสดิภาพและความปลอดภัยของผู้เสียหายและสังคมด้วย ทั้งนี้ ให้ศาลดำเนินการไต่สวนหรือสอบถามผู้เสียหาย เจ้าพนักงานที่เกี่ยวข้องตามหมายจำคุก พนักงานฝ่ายปกครองหรือตำรวจในท้องที่นั้น หรือผู้ซึ่งศาลเห็นว่ามีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องคำสั่งของศาลตามวรรคหนึ่ง ให้ศาลกำหนดให้เจ้าพนักงานผู้มีหน้าที่จัดการตามหมายนั้นเป็นผู้มีหน้าที่และรับผิดชอบในการดำเนินการตามคำสั่งและให้นำความในมาตรา ๘๙/๑ วรรคสี่มาใช้บังคับโดยอนุโลม
English translation
Where there is a necessity, when the public prosecutor, the warden of the prison, or the officer having the duty to carry out the imprisonment warrant so requests, or when the court deems it appropriate, the court may order that a person who must be imprisoned under a final judgment, and who has already served imprisonment of not less than one-third of the term of the penalty specified in the court's warrant issued under that judgment, or not less than ten years in the case of imprisonment exceeding thirty years or imprisonment for life, be imprisoned by any one of the following methods:
(1) to be imprisoned in a place other than a prison or the place specified in the imprisonment warrant, as requested by such person or as the court deems appropriate; the characteristics of such place shall be as prescribed in a ministerial regulation, which must also prescribe the method of control and measures to prevent escape or damage that may occur;
(2) to be imprisoned in the prison or the place specified in the imprisonment warrant, or in another place under (1), only on the days fixed according to the rules and methods prescribed in a ministerial regulation;
(3) to be imprisoned by another method that can restrict the travel and territory of that person, according to the rules and methods prescribed in a ministerial regulation.
In the court's consideration under paragraph one, the court shall take into account the basis of the offense, the conduct and welfare of the person who must be imprisoned, as well as the welfare and safety of the injured person and of society. In this regard, the court shall conduct an examination or inquire of the injured person, the officer concerned with the imprisonment warrant, the administrative or police officer of that locality, or a person whom the court considers to be concerned.
In the court's order under paragraph one, the court shall designate the officer having the duty to carry out that warrant as the person having the duty and responsibility for carrying out the order; and the provisions of section 89/1 paragraph four shall apply mutatis mutandis.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 89/2, added by the 2007 amendment, gives the court power, on request or of its own motion, to order that a person serving a final custodial sentence complete it by an alternative method, once an eligibility threshold is met: at least one-third of the term served, or at least ten years for sentences exceeding thirty years or life imprisonment. The three permitted methods are detention outside prison, intermittent detention on fixed days, or measures restricting travel and territory, each detailed by ministerial regulation. The court must weigh the offense, the prisoner's conduct and welfare, and the safety of the victim and society, after examination or inquiry, and section 89/1 paragraph four (revocation on breach or changed circumstances) applies mutatis mutandis. It is the sentence-enforcement counterpart to the pre-judgment provision in section 89/1.
Why this matters in practice
For a prisoner who has already served a substantial portion of a final sentence and behaved well, this section opens a route to serve the remainder by an alternative method, but eligibility and approval are strict and the court must weigh victim and public safety. Preparing evidence of conduct, welfare needs, and a compliant plan is essential. To assess whether a prisoner qualifies and to build the application, seek a consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 7928/2555 (2012)
Section 89/2 paragraph one lets the court order that a person imprisoned under a final judgment, who has served not less than one third of the term stated in the warrant, or not less than ten years where the term exceeds thirty years or is imprisonment for life, be imprisoned by one of the alternative methods it lists. But it names who may ask: the public prosecutor, the prison governor, or the officer whose duty it is to act under the warrant of imprisonment, or the court may act of its own motion. It gives no right of application to the person imprisoned under the final judgment. A prisoner therefore has no standing to petition under section 89/2 paragraph one himself.
The first defendant, sentenced to imprisonment for life and later reduced by royal pardons, had served more than thirteen years with good conduct and petitioned under the newly enacted section 89/2 to be imprisoned by an alternative method so that he could care for his aged parents. The Supreme Court held that section 89/2 paragraph one names those who may make such an application, namely the public prosecutor, the prison governor and the officer whose duty it is to act under the warrant of imprisonment, and allows the court to act of its own motion, but confers no right of application on the person imprisoned under a final judgment. The first defendant therefore had no right to petition under it, and in any event the Court saw no cause to order an alternative method of imprisonment given the gravity of the offence.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 1 Supreme Court decisions (2012 to 2012)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 7928/2555 (2012)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies for alternative imprisonment under Section 89/2?
A person imprisoned under a final judgment who has served at least one-third of the sentence, or at least ten years where the sentence exceeds thirty years or is life imprisonment, may be considered for an alternative method.
What alternative methods can the court order?
Under Section 89/2 the court may order imprisonment outside prison, imprisonment only on fixed days, or another method that restricts the person's travel and territory, each as prescribed by ministerial regulation.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 89/2 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 89/2. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-89-2/ (accessed 1 September 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 89/2 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-89-2/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-89-2/"><p>Where there is a necessity, when the public prosecutor, the warden of the prison, or the officer having the duty to carry out the imprisonment warrant so requests, or when the court deems it appropriate, the court may order that a person who must be…</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 89/2 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-89-2/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.