Section 295: Causing bodily harm
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดทำร้ายผู้อื่น จนเป็นเหตุให้เกิดอันตรายแก่กายหรือจิตใจของผู้อื่นนั้น ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานทำร้ายร่างกาย ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสองปี หรือปรับไม่เกินสี่หมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever injures another person so as to cause harm to the body or mind of that person commits the offence of bodily harm and shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding forty thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are: (1) an act of assault against another person, and (2) resulting harm to that person's body or mind. This is the base bodily-harm provision of the Title on Offences against the Body: where the injury is only slight it may fall under the petty offence in Section 391, while grievous injury raises the matter to Section 297. Aggravating circumstances drawn from Section 289 elevate a Section 295 assault to Section 296. Harm to the mind, not only the body, is enough, so recognised psychological injury can satisfy the section.
Why this matters in practice
Section 295 is not a compoundable offence, so a private settlement does not automatically end the prosecution, though it is commonly weighed as a mitigating factor at sentencing. Exposure is up to two years, and courts frequently impose short custodial terms, fines, or converted detention, especially for first offenders who plead useful evidence. Self-defence is the classic defence: where it is made out the act is not an offence at all, and the case may be dismissed. If injuries are serious, watch for an upgrade to Section 297, and if an aggravating circumstance under Section 289 is present, to Section 296.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4292/2567 (2024)
Where the evidence establishes a legal ground that renders the act not an offence, such as lawful self-defence, the Supreme Court may examine the whole record and dismiss a Section 295 bodily-harm charge.
The defendant was convicted at first instance under Section 295, but the Supreme Court found a legal ground rendering the act not an offence and, relying on the whole record, dismissed the charge under Criminal Procedure Code Section 185.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2107/2568 (2025)
A defendant convicted of causing bodily harm under Section 295 who gives evidence useful to the case may have the sentence reduced by one third as a mitigating circumstance under Section 78.
The defendant was convicted under Section 295 and sentenced to six months imprisonment, reduced by one third to four months for useful testimony; the conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 723 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2025)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 2107/2568 (2025)
- Decision 4292/2567 (2024)
- Decision 4753/2565 (2022)
- Decision 361/2563 (2020)
- Decision 7530/2560 (2017)
- Decision 413/2560 (2017)
- Decision 289/2560 (2017)
- Decision 9648/2559 (2016)
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 83 370
- Section 91 296
- Section 78 290
- Section 288 283
- Section 80 271
- Section 90 169
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
Is assault under Section 295 a compoundable offence in Thailand?
No. Section 295 bodily harm is not a personal, compoundable offence, so a settlement with the victim does not automatically end the case, although it is usually treated as a mitigating factor.
Can self-defence defeat a Section 295 charge?
Yes. Where lawful self-defence is established, the act is not an offence and the court may dismiss the charge, as the Supreme Court has done on a full review of the evidence.
What is the difference between Sections 295, 296 and 297?
Section 295 is basic bodily harm, Section 296 is bodily harm committed with a Section 289 aggravating circumstance, and Section 297 applies where the victim suffers grievous bodily harm.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 295 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 295. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-295/ (accessed 19 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 295 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-295/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-295/"><p>Whoever injures another person so as to cause harm to the body or mind of that person commits the offence of bodily harm and shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding forty thousand baht, or both.</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 295 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-295/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.