Section 132: Killing or attempting to kill a foreign sovereign or envoy
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดฆ่าหรือพยายามฆ่าบุคคลหนึ่งบุคคลใดดังระบุไว้ในมาตรา ๑๓๐ หรือมาตรา ๑๓๑ ต้องระวางโทษประหารชีวิตหรือจำคุกตลอดชีวิต
English translation
Whoever kills or attempts to kill any of the persons specified in Section 130 or Section 131 shall be liable to the death penalty or to imprisonment for life.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 132 is the aggravated limb of the chapter on friendly relations with foreign States. Section 130 punishes violence against the body or liberty of a foreign monarch or head of State, and Section 131 punishes the same conduct against a representative of a foreign State accredited to the Royal Court. Section 132 applies where the act is a killing, or an attempted killing, of any of those persons. It borrows the two lists of protected persons rather than defining its own. There is a single penalty, death or imprisonment for life, with no lesser range, and an attempt is punished exactly as the completed killing. Where the harm falls short of killing, the applicable provision is Section 130 or Section 131.
Why this matters in practice
Two things have to be established: that the victim is a person protected by Section 130 or Section 131, and that the act was a killing or an attempted killing. Because the only punishments available are death and imprisonment for life, mitigation runs through the general provisions rather than through the section, and Section 53 matters in practice: where a reduction is applied to imprisonment for life, the life sentence is first changed to fifty years. The offence is not compoundable; see criminal law in Thailand.
Frequently asked questions
What does Section 132 punish?
Killing, or attempting to kill, any of the persons specified in Section 130 or Section 131: a foreign monarch or head of State, or a representative of a foreign State accredited to the Royal Court.
What is the penalty under Section 132?
Death or imprisonment for life. The section provides no lesser range, and an attempt carries the same punishment as the completed killing.
How does Section 132 differ from Section 130?
Section 130 covers violence against the body or liberty of a protected person and carries one to fifteen years. Section 132 applies only where the act is a killing or an attempted killing, and carries death or imprisonment for life.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 132 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 132. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-132/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 132 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-132/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-132/"><p>Whoever kills or attempts to kill any of the persons specified in Section 130 or Section 131 shall be liable to the death penalty or to imprisonment for life.</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 132 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-132/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.