Section 243: Import of counterfeit or altered currency

Firm annotation

Section 243 is the import limb of the currency group, and it borrows its penalty rather than setting one. The elements are bringing into the Kingdom anything that is counterfeit under Section 240, which covers currency, a government bond and a coupon for interest on such a bond, or altered under Section 241, and the punishment is that prescribed in the section concerned. Section 240 carries imprisonment for life, or from ten to twenty years, and a fine from 200,000 to 400,000 baht. Section 241 carries imprisonment for life, or from five to twenty years and a fine from 100,000 to 400,000 baht. Nothing in this section requires an intention to circulate the item inside Thailand: the act of importation completes the offence. Possession in order to put such an item into use is the separate and lighter offence in Section 244, at one to fifteen years and a fine of 20,000 to 300,000 baht. As with every offence in the Code, it must be committed intentionally under Section 59, so the person must know that what they bring in is counterfeit or altered.