Section 236 — Adulterating food or drugs
English translation
Whoever adulterates food, drugs, or any other article of consumption in order to sell it, where the adulteration is likely to cause danger to health, 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
Three elements must be present: adulteration of food, drugs, or other consumer goods, a purpose of sale, and that the adulteration is likely to be dangerous to health. The health danger element is essential, and a charge that fails to allege it is defective, as the Supreme Court has confirmed. The section sits among the public danger offences and often overlaps with specialised statutes such as the Food Act and the Drug Act, which may carry their own penalties for the same conduct. Section 238 increases the penalty where the adulteration causes death, and Section 239 covers negligent commission.
Why this matters in practice
For a complaint to stand, it must plead facts showing the adulteration was likely to endanger health, not merely that goods were adulterated. Exposure is up to three years, or a 60,000 baht fine, and the same facts may also be charged under food, drug, or product standards legislation. A frequent defence is that the additive or substitution posed no realistic health risk. See our overview of corporate criminal liability in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 7843/2543 (2000)
A charge under Section 236 must allege that the adulteration was likely to be dangerous to health; a complaint that omits this fact does not make out the offence.
The prosecution charged the defendant with adulterating engine oil, a consumer article, for sale under Section 236. The Court noted that an offence under Section 236 requires facts showing the adulteration was likely to endanger health, but the complaint did not allege those facts, so it did not make out the offence.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What must be proven under Section 236?
That the accused adulterated food, drugs, or consumer goods for sale, and that the adulteration was likely to endanger health. Without the health-risk element, the charge fails.
Can adulterating goods be charged under other laws too?
Yes. The same conduct is often prosecuted under the Food Act, the Drug Act, or industrial product standards law, which can carry separate penalties from Section 236.
Is Section 236 limited to food?
No. It covers food, drugs, and any other article of consumption, so adulterated consumables sold to the public can fall within it.