Section 138: Resisting or obstructing an official
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดต่อสู้ หรือขัดขวางเจ้าพนักงานหรือผู้ซึ่งต้องช่วยเจ้าพนักงานตามกฎหมายในการปฏิบัติการตามหน้าที่ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งปี หรือปรับไม่เกินสองหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ถ้าการต่อสู้หรือขัดขวางนั้น ได้กระทำโดยใช้กำลังประทุษร้ายหรือขู่เข็ญว่าจะใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสองปี หรือปรับไม่เกินสี่หมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๕ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever resists or obstructs an official, or a person required by law to assist an official, in the performance of his duty shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand baht, or both.
If such resistance or obstruction is committed by using force or by threatening to use force, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding forty thousand baht, or both.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 138 protects the performance of official duty against resistance and obstruction. Its elements are: an official (or a person the law requires to assist an official) who is performing a duty, and conduct by the offender that resists or obstructs that performance. Paragraph two is an aggravated form where the resistance or obstruction is carried out by using force or threatening force, doubling the maximum imprisonment. A precondition is that the official must be acting lawfully within his duty; if the official exceeds his authority the offence may not arise. Section 138 is the base against which Section 140 further aggravates the offence where weapons are carried, three or more persons act together, or a firearm or explosive is used.
Why this matters in practice
Resisting or obstructing an official is a very common charge arising from arrests, searches, checkpoints and enforcement actions, often added on top of the underlying offence. Passive obstruction under paragraph one carries up to one year, but the moment force or a threat of force enters, exposure doubles under paragraph two, and if a weapon is carried, three or more act together, or a firearm is used, Section 140 raises it further. A key line of defence is whether the official was in fact acting lawfully within his duty at the time. Sentences are frequently short and suspended for first offenders, as the reported cases show. For what to expect once charged, see what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2460/2563 (2020)
A party who has won on appeal has no right to appeal further merely because it disagrees with the appellate court's reasoning, since a ruling in its favour does not prejudice it. Where the Court of Appeal has held that the conduct is not the offence charged and has dismissed the prosecution, that judgment stands unless the prosecution's own appeal succeeds.
The two defendants were prosecuted under Sections 83 and 138. The Court of Appeal Region 2 held their conduct was not the offence charged and reversed to an acquittal. The Supreme Court agreed with that judgment and dismissed the prosecution's further appeal, and refused to consider the defendants' own further appeal against the reasoning, since they had won and the reasoning did not prejudice them.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 230 Supreme Court decisions (1961 to 2024)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 2460/2563 (2020)
- Decision 947/2563 (2020)
- Decision 8586/2561 (2018)
- Decision 5095/2560 (2017)
- Decision 5256/2559 (2016)
- Decision 7322/2557 (2014)
- Decision 6875/2557 (2014)
- Decision 6252/2556 (2013)
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.
Most often cited alongside
- Section 91 149
- Section 140 114
- Section 83 105
- Section 80 104
- Section 289 103
- Section 78 94
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
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
What is the penalty for resisting an official under Section 138?
Up to one year in prison or a 20,000 baht fine for basic obstruction; up to two years or a 40,000 baht fine if force or a threat of force is used.
Does the official have to be acting lawfully?
Yes. The official must be performing a lawful duty; if the official exceeds his authority the offence may not arise.
What makes the offence more serious?
Using force or threatening force raises it under paragraph two, and carrying a weapon, acting with three or more people, or using a firearm raises it further under Section 140.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 138 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 138. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-138/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 138 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-138/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-138/"><p>Whoever resists or obstructs an official, or a person required by law to assist an official, in the performance of his duty shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand baht, or both. If such resistance or…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 138 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-138/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.