Section 300: Negligence causing grievous harm
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำโดยประมาท และการกระทำนั้นเป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นรับอันตรายสาหัส ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสามปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหกหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever acts negligently and that act causes grievous bodily harm to another person 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: (1) an act done negligently, without intent, and (2) grievous bodily harm to another person, as defined in Section 297, resulting from it. The offence is the negligence counterpart to the intentional grievous-harm provision in Section 297, and it parallels Section 291, which covers negligence causing death. Because it requires no intent, the focus is on whether the accused fell below the standard of care and whether the resulting injury meets the statutory definition of grievous harm. In practice most prosecutions arise from traffic incidents and are charged together with Road Traffic Act offences.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is up to three years, but because there is no intent, sentences are frequently suspended, converted, or fined, especially where the accused pleads guilty and compensates the victim. Compensation and settlement are practically central: the civil claim for damages usually runs alongside the criminal case, and full restitution weighs heavily in mitigation. Common defences dispute negligence itself, contributory fault of the victim, or whether the injury truly qualifies as grievous under Section 297. For guidance on defending a negligence charge, read our overview of Thai criminal law.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 194/2568 (2025)
Negligent conduct, typically a road accident, that causes grievous bodily harm is prosecuted under Section 300 together with Road Traffic Act offences, and injured parties may join as co-plaintiffs on the negligence charge.
The defendant was prosecuted under Sections 300 and 390 with Road Traffic Act offences for a negligent act causing injury; the court allowed the injured parties to join as co-plaintiffs only on the negligence charge and confirmed its power to order consecutive service of sentence on the prosecution's request.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 281 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2026)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 455/2569 (2026)
- Decision 5398/2568 (2025)
- Decision 194/2568 (2025)
- Decision 4235/2567 (2024)
- Decision 2996/2567 (2024)
- Decision 3785/2564 (2021)
- Decision 188/2563 (2020)
- Decision 2764/2562 (2019)
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 90 135
- Section 390 111
- Section 91 100
- Section 78 99
- Section 291 96
- Section 29 83
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 a road accident that seriously injures someone a crime in Thailand?
It can be. Under Section 300, negligent conduct, including careless driving, that causes grievous bodily harm to another person is an offence punishable by up to three years imprisonment, and is usually charged with Road Traffic Act offences.
Does paying compensation help in a Section 300 case?
Yes. Because the offence involves no intent, full compensation and settlement with the victim are given significant weight in mitigation and can support a suspended or reduced sentence.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 300 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 300. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-300/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 300 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-300/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-300/"><p>Whoever acts negligently and that act causes grievous bodily harm to another person shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both.</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 300 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-300/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.