Section 1 — Statutory definitions
English translation
In this Code
(1) "Dishonestly" means to seek a benefit that one is not lawfully entitled to obtain, for oneself or for another.
(2) "Public way" means a way by land or by water for the public to use for traffic, and includes railways and tramways on which trains run.
(3) "Public place" means any place to which the public has a legitimate right of entry.
(4) "Dwelling" means a place used as a residence, such as a house, building, boat, or raft in which persons live, and includes the surrounding premises of such residence, whether or not enclosed by a fence.
(5) "Weapon" includes anything that is not a weapon by its nature but that has been used, or is intended to be used, to cause bodily harm amounting to grievous harm.
(6) "To commit an act of violence" means to do harm to the body or mind of a person, whether by physical force or by any other means, and includes any act that renders a person incapable of resistance, whether by administering an intoxicating drug, by hypnosis, or by any other similar method.
(7) "Document" means paper or any other object on which meaning has been made to appear by letters, figures, plans, or any other form of design, whether by printing, photography, or any other method, constituting evidence of such meaning.
(8) "Official document" means a document made or certified by an official in the course of duty, and includes a copy of such document certified by an official in the course of duty.
(9) "Document of title" means a document that is evidence of the creation, alteration, transfer, reservation, or extinguishment of a right.
(10) "Signature" includes a fingerprint and a mark placed by a person in lieu of that person's signature.
(11) "Night-time" means the period between sunset and sunrise.
(12) "Confinement" means to detain, control, imprison, hold in custody, or incarcerate.
(13) "Ransom" means property or a benefit demanded or given in exchange for the liberty of a person who has been taken away, detained, or confined.
(14) "Electronic card" means
(a) a document or any other object, whatever its form, issued by the issuer to a person entitled to use it, whether or not bearing a name, on which data or a code is recorded by the application of electronic, electrical, electromagnetic, or any other similar method, including data with a stored code on a card or device used to withdraw cash, transfer or make payment, or purchase goods or services through an electronic system, or used as a tool to access a computer system;
(b) data, a code, an account number, an electronic serial number, or any numerical tool that the issuer has issued to a person entitled to use it without issuing any document or other object, but which has a method of use similar to (a); or
(c) any other thing used together with electronic data to identify the user.
(15) "Passport" means an important identity document, whatever its form, issued by the Thai Government, a foreign government, or an international organization to any person for use in identifying oneself when travelling between countries.
(16) "Genital organ" includes a genital organ obtained from sex-reassignment surgery.
(17) [Reserved]
(18) "Sexual intercourse" means an act done to gratify the sexual desire of the doer, by using the doer's genital organ to penetrate the genital organ, anus, or mouth of another person, or by using any other thing on the genital organ or anus of another person.
(19) "Sexual harassment" means an act, by word, gesture, communication, pornographic material, or by any other means, of a nature that constitutes sexual harassment, causing the person subjected to it to feel unsafe, distressed and annoyed, or ashamed.
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 definitions section of the General Part of the Penal Code. It does not create any offence; it supplies the controlled meaning of recurring terms so that reading any later offence provision requires reading its defined words back into Section 1. Several definitions are decisive elements elsewhere: dishonestly (1(1)) is the special intent in theft, misappropriation, and fraud; weapon (1(5)) and act of violence (1(6)) determine aggravated forms of assault and robbery; document (1(7)) to document of title (1(9)) frame the forgery offences; and ransom (1(13)) is built into kidnapping for ransom. The definition of sexual intercourse in 1(18) and the addition of electronic card (1(14)), passport (1(15)), genital organ (1(16)), and sexual harassment (1(19)) reflect later amendments modernizing the Code.
Why this matters in practice
Section 1 rarely appears alone on a charge sheet, but it decides cases. Whether conduct is theft rather than a civil dispute often turns on the dishonestly definition in 1(1); whether an assault is aggravated turns on whether an object counts as a weapon under 1(5); whether a night-time aggravator applies turns on 1(11). Anyone facing or filing a complaint should check how each defined term maps onto the specific offence charged, because a missing defined element can be a complete defence. For orientation on how these building blocks fit Thai criminal offences, see our overview of criminal law in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 4317/2567 (2024)
The statutory term dishonestly in Section 1(1) is a special intent and an element of theft; even where the doer intends to take another's property, the act is not theft if that dishonest intent is absent.
Applying the Section 1(1) definition of dishonestly, the Supreme Court explained that dishonest intent is distinct from the general intent under Section 59; a taking that lacks dishonest intent does not amount to theft.
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 does dishonestly mean in the Thai Penal Code?
Under Section 1(1), dishonestly means acting to seek a benefit that one is not lawfully entitled to obtain, for oneself or another. It is a special intent that must be proven in offences such as theft, misappropriation, and fraud.
What counts as a weapon under Section 1?
Section 1(5) treats as a weapon not only things that are weapons by nature but also any object that was used, or was intended to be used, to cause grievous bodily harm. This affects whether an offence is charged in an aggravated form.
Does the definition of sexual intercourse cover more than one act?
Yes. Section 1(18) defines sexual intercourse broadly to include penetration of the genital organ, anus, or mouth, and the use of any other thing on the genital organ or anus, when done to gratify sexual desire.