Section 296: Aggravated bodily harm
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำความผิดฐานทำร้ายร่างกาย ถ้าความผิดนั้น มีลักษณะประการหนึ่งประการใดดังที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๘๙ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสามปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหกหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever commits the offence of bodily harm, where the offence has any of the characteristics described in Section 289, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are those of Section 295, causing harm to the body or mind, plus any one of the aggravating circumstances defined in Section 289 for aggravated homicide, such as harm to an ascendant, an official acting in the exercise of duty, by premeditation, by cruelty, or to facilitate another offence. The presence of such a circumstance raises the maximum penalty from two to three years. It is the aggravated counterpart of the base assault in Section 295, and stands to Section 295 as Section 298 stands to the grievous-harm offence in Section 297.
Why this matters in practice
Because liability turns on a Section 289 circumstance, the practical fight is often over whether that circumstance existed, for example whether the victim was an official acting in duty or whether the act was premeditated. Exposure rises to three years, and, like Section 295, this is not a compoundable offence, so settlement does not automatically end the case. Anyone charged should get the aggravating element carefully analysed, since removing it can drop the case back to the lighter Section 295. For a case-specific assessment, book a consultation with a Thai criminal lawyer.
Cited in 65 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2021)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 2741/2550 (2007)
- Decision 8332/2548 (2005)
- Decision 1729/2547 (2004)
- Decision 108/2546 (2003)
- Decision 76/2542 (1999)
- Decision 2292/2541 (1998)
- Decision 5251/2537 (1994)
- Decision 501/2537 (1994)
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 91 36
- Section 138 32
- Section 78 31
- Section 295 30
- Section 80 29
- Section 289 28
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 makes bodily harm aggravated under Section 296?
The harm must be committed with one of the aggravating circumstances listed in Section 289, such as against an ascendant or an official on duty, by premeditation, or by cruelty, which raises the maximum penalty to three years.
How is Section 296 different from Section 295?
Section 295 is basic bodily harm with a two-year maximum, while Section 296 is the same conduct plus a Section 289 aggravating circumstance, raising the maximum to three years.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 296 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 296. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-296/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 296 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-296/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-296/"><p>Whoever commits the offence of bodily harm, where the offence has any of the characteristics described in Section 289, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both.</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 296 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-296/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.