Section 181: Aggravated penalties for false justice offences
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าการกระทำความผิดตามมาตรา ๑๗๔ มาตรา ๑๗๕ มาตรา ๑๗๗ มาตรา ๑๗๘ หรือมาตรา ๑๘๐ (๑) เป็นการกระทำในกรณีแห่งข้อหาว่า ผู้ใดกระทำความผิดที่มีระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สามปีขึ้นไป ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่หกเดือนถึงเจ็ดปี และปรับตั้งแต่หนึ่งหมื่นบาทถึงหนึ่งแสนสี่หมื่นบาท (๒) เป็นการกระทำในกรณีแห่งข้อหาว่า ผู้ใดกระทำความผิดที่มีระวางโทษถึงประหารชีวิต หรือจำคุกตลอดชีวิต ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่หนึ่งปีถึงสิบห้าปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองหมื่นบาทถึงสามแสนบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
If the commission of the offence under Section 174, Section 175, Section 177, Section 178, or Section 180:
(1) is committed in a case involving an accusation that a person has committed an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years or more, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine from ten thousand Baht to one hundred and forty thousand Baht;
(2) is committed in a case involving an accusation that a person has committed an offence punishable with death or life imprisonment, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from one year to fifteen years and a fine from twenty thousand Baht to three hundred thousand Baht.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 181 is a penalty-enhancement provision that does not create a new offence but graduates the punishment for the false-justice offences in Sections 174, 175, 177, 178, and 180 by reference to the gravity of the accusation involved. Paragraph (1) applies where the underlying accusation carries imprisonment of three years or more, and paragraph (2) applies where it carries death or life imprisonment, each with a much higher penalty range and, notably, a minimum term. In practice courts identify the base offence first, then apply Section 181 to fix the enhanced range; where a single act violates several provisions, the court sentences under the applicable Section 181 tier. The provision reflects that fabricating a case around a grave accusation is treated as far more dangerous than around a minor one.
Why this matters in practice
This section is where perjury or a false charge can turn from a few years' exposure into a serious sentence with a mandatory minimum, so the gravity of the underlying accusation drives the real risk. A false accusation or false testimony wrapped around a charge that carries death or life imprisonment falls into paragraph (2), one to fifteen years, and even a three-year-plus underlying offence triggers a six-month floor under paragraph (1). Courts have applied Section 181(2) to perjury in a case where the accused faced the death penalty, and Section 181(1) where a single act of false reporting and perjury concerned an offence punishable by three years or more. Because the enhancement hinges on the underlying charge, mapping that out early is essential; you can consult a Thai criminal lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1691/2561 (2018)
Where perjury under Section 177 is committed in a case involving an accusation of an offence punishable by death or imprisonment for life, Section 181 (2) raises the punishment. The sentence within that range is still fixed on the circumstances of the case, and the Supreme Court will vary a sentence it finds too heavy.
The defendant gave false information to the inquiry official and gave false evidence at the trial of a premeditated murder, failing to name the culprit so as to spare the accused. The Supreme Court held the charge sufficiently particularised under section 158 (5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, and that the Pa Phayom police had power to investigate under section 19 (1) because it was uncertain in which district the offences had been committed. On sentence it held the eight years imposed below too heavy and varied the judgment to five years' imprisonment.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3014/2560 (2017)
Where a single act of false reporting and related false-justice offences concerns an accusation punishable by three years or more, the court sentences under Section 181(1) read with the aggravated form of the base offence.
The Court of Appeal convicted the defendant under Sections 137, 172, 173, and 174 paragraph two together with Section 181(1), treating the conduct as a single act violating several provisions and sentencing under Section 181(1) read with Section 174 paragraph two as the governing provision.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1575/2563 (2020)
The enhanced tier in Section 181(2) applies only where the false report concerns an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment; conduct amounting only to a false statement under Section 172 does not reach it.
The Court held the conduct amounted only to a false statement to an inquiry official under Section 172 and did not constitute framing someone for an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment under Section 174 paragraph two with Section 181(2), confirming the top tier is reserved for the gravest accusations.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 53 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2020)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 1691/2561 (2018)
- Decision 8997/2555 (2012)
- Decision 408/2537 (1994)
- Decision 2178/2536 (1993)
- Decision 1294/2536 (1993)
- Decision 386/2529 (1986)
- Decision 2913-2915/2528 (1985)
- Decision 3702/2526 (1983)
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 177 32
- Section 172 25
- Section 174 21
- Section 91 21
- Section 83 14
- Thai CrPC s. 158 12
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
Does Section 181 create a separate offence?
No. It is an enhancement that raises the penalty for the offences in Sections 174, 175, 177, 178, and 180 based on how serious the underlying accusation is.
When does the highest range apply?
Paragraph (2) applies where the underlying accusation concerns an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment, raising the penalty to 1 to 15 years and a fine of 20,000 to 300,000 Baht.
Does perjury in a serious criminal case fall under Section 181?
Yes. Courts have applied Section 181(2) to perjury in a case where the accused faced the death penalty, producing a much higher sentence.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 181 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 181. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-181/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 181 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-181/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-181/"><p>If the commission of the offence under Section 174, Section 175, Section 177, Section 178, or Section 180: (1) is committed in a case involving an accusation that a person has committed an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years or more, the offender shall…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 181 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-181/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.