Section 114 — Preparation for insurrection
English translation
Whoever accumulates forces or arms, procures or gathers property, gives or receives training in combat or in the use of arms, or does any other act to prepare for causing disturbance as provided in Section 113, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 114 criminalises the preparatory stage of insurrection, before the use or threat of force required by Section 113 has occurred. Its acts include accumulating forces or arms, procuring or gathering property, giving or receiving combat or weapons training, or any other act done to prepare for causing the disturbance in Section 113. By punishing preparation with three to fifteen years, the Code reaches conduct that would otherwise fall short of the completed insurrection offence, and it is narrower and lighter than Section 113 itself. In practice it is often charged alongside firearms and war-weapons offences under the arms legislation where weapons are stockpiled.
Why this matters in practice
Like Section 113, this is an offence against the State, so the State is the sole injured party and prosecution rests with the public prosecutor rather than any private complainant. The penalty exposure of three to fifteen years is serious, and where arms are involved, additional charges under the firearms and war-weapons laws commonly follow. The central issue is usually whether the acts of gathering people, arms, funds or training were genuinely done to prepare for the insurrection aims in Section 113, as opposed to a lawful or unrelated purpose.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 734/2520 (1977)
Possessing and stockpiling war weapons for the purpose of separating the Kingdom or jointly seizing governing power over part of the Kingdom is charged as preparation for insurrection under Section 114.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants possessed war weapons, including many rocket launchers, machine-gun ammunition and anti-aircraft gun mounts, for the purpose of separating the Kingdom or jointly seizing governing power over part of it, and charged them under Section 114 together with the firearms and war-weapons legislation. The case illustrates how the accumulation of arms with an insurrectionary aim is prosecuted as preparatory conduct under this section, alongside the arms offences.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2857/2530 (1987)
Offences against internal security under Sections 113, 114 and 116 injure the State alone, so a private person, even a member of parliament, has no standing to prosecute.
The public prosecutor charged the defendants under Sections 113, 114 and 116. The court held these internal-security offences are committed directly against the State, so only the State is the injured party with power to prosecute. A member of parliament acting as complainant was not an injured person under the Criminal Procedure Code and lacked standing.
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 Section 114 punish?
It punishes preparatory acts for insurrection, such as accumulating forces or arms, gathering property, or giving or receiving combat or weapons training to prepare for the disturbance in Section 113, with three to fifteen years imprisonment.
How does Section 114 differ from Section 113?
Section 113 punishes the actual use or threat of force for insurrection with death or life imprisonment, while Section 114 punishes the earlier preparatory stage with a lighter three-to-fifteen-year term.