Section 165: Officer obstructing enforcement of law
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดเป็นเจ้าพนักงาน มีหน้าที่ปฏิบัติการให้เป็นไปตามกฎหมาย หรือคำสั่ง ซึ่งได้สั่งเพื่อบังคับการให้เป็นไปตามกฎหมาย ป้องกันหรือขัดขวางมิให้การเป็นไปตามกฎหมายหรือคำสั่งนั้น ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งปี หรือปรับไม่เกินสองหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever, being an official having the duty to carry out the enforcement of a law, or of an order issued to enforce a law, prevents or obstructs the enforcement of that law or order, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding twenty 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 165 is one of the lighter malfeasance offences, with a one-year ceiling, and addresses the officer who sabotages rather than merely neglects the enforcement he is charged with. Its elements are: (1) the actor is an official with a duty to enforce a law or an enforcement order; and (2) they prevent or obstruct that enforcement. It differs from simple dereliction because it requires positive prevention or obstruction of enforcement, and it is narrower than Section 157, which covers the broader field of dishonest or wrongful performance of duty. Where the same conduct is dishonest, Section 165 is commonly charged together with Section 157, and where they form a single act the heavier provision governs the sentence.
Why this matters in practice
The one-year maximum makes this a relatively low-exposure charge on its own, but it rarely travels alone: it is usually paired with Section 157, which carries a much heavier penalty and drives the real sentencing risk where the counts form a single act. As a public-office offence it is not settleable with a private party. The defence usually focuses on whether the accused actually had the enforcement duty and whether their conduct amounted to positive obstruction rather than a lawful exercise of discretion or a permissible delay. If you are an official accused of blocking enforcement, or a party affected by an officer refusing to act, consult a Thai lawyer on how the charges interact.
Cited in 24 Supreme Court decisions (1962 to 2024)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 4603/2557 (2014)
- Decision 2239/2528 (1985)
- Decision 2633/2523 (1980)
- Decision 3251/2516 (1973)
- Decision 168/2507 (1964)
- Decision 5360/2537 (1994)
- Decision 530/2526 (1983)
- Decision 3278/2522 (1979)
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 157 22
- Section 91 15
- Section 83 13
- Section 90 10
- Section 162 7
- Section 86 6
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
How is Section 165 different from Section 157?
Section 165 specifically targets an officer who prevents or obstructs the enforcement he is duty-bound to carry out, and carries a lighter penalty. Section 157 covers the broader field of dishonest or wrongful performance of duty and is usually the heavier count.
What is the penalty under Section 165?
Imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht, or both.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 165 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 165. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-165/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 165 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-165/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-165/"><p>Whoever, being an official having the duty to carry out the enforcement of a law, or of an order issued to enforce a law, prevents or obstructs the enforcement of that law or order, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 165 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-165/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.