Section 187: Tampering with seized or attached property
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดเพื่อจะมิให้การเป็นไปตามคำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งของศาล ทำให้เสียหาย ทำลาย ซ่อนเร้น เอาไปเสีย หรือทำให้สูญหายหรือไร้ประโยชน์ ซึ่งทรัพย์ที่ถูกยึดหรืออายัด หรือที่ตนรู้ว่าน่าจะถูกยึดหรืออายัด ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสามปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหกหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever, in order to prevent the execution of a judgment or order of a court, damages, destroys, conceals, takes away, or renders lost or useless any property that has been seized or attached, or that the person knows is likely to be seized or attached, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding sixty 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 187 protects the enforcement of court judgments and orders against interference with the property used to satisfy them. Its elements are an act of damaging, destroying, concealing, taking away, or rendering lost or useless, directed at property that has been seized or attached, or that the person knows is likely to be seized or attached, coupled with the purpose of defeating the execution of a judgment or order. That specific purpose, to prevent the judgment or order from taking effect, is essential; a charge that does not clearly plead the property and the intent to defeat execution can be found defective. The provision complements Section 185 (property in the court's keeping) and Section 186 (forfeited property), completing the set of offences that safeguard the integrity of judicial outcomes over property.
Why this matters in practice
This section is common in debt and enforcement disputes, where a debtor disposes of or hides property that has been seized or attached, or that the debtor knows is likely to be seized, to keep a creditor from enforcing a judgment; the penalty runs up to 3 years. The decisive element is the intent to prevent the judgment or order from taking effect. Courts have dismissed cases where the charge failed to state the time of the offence or did not fully plead the intent element, so clearly setting out the property, the timeframe, and the purpose of defeating execution matters. If you are a creditor whose secured property has been moved, or you are accused under this section, take advice on the evidence and pleading; you can read what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Cited in 24 Supreme Court decisions (1957 to 2022)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 421/2565 (2022)
- Decision 483/2563 (2020)
- Decision 2064/2562 (2019)
- Decision 4196/2558 (2015)
- Decision 3628/2556 (2013)
- Decision 10783/2554 (2011)
- Decision 2151/2548 (2005)
- Decision 1300/2539 (1996)
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 83 12
- Section 350 11
- Section 91 9
- Section 90 7
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 key element of Section 187?
The act must be done in order to prevent the execution of a court judgment or order, directed at property seized or attached, or that the person knows is likely to be seized or attached.
Can a Section 187 charge be dismissed on pleading grounds?
Yes. Courts have dismissed charges that failed to state the time of the offence or did not fully plead the essential elements, including the intent to defeat execution.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 187 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 187. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-187/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 187 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-187/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-187/"><p>Whoever, in order to prevent the execution of a judgment or order of a court, damages, destroys, conceals, takes away, or renders lost or useless any property that has been seized or attached, or that the person knows is likely to be seized or attached,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 187 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-187/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.