Section 310: Unlawful deprivation of liberty
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดหน่วงเหนี่ยวหรือกักขังผู้อื่น หรือกระทำด้วยประการใดให้ผู้อื่นปราศจากเสรีภาพในร่างกาย ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสามปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหกหมื่นบาทหรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ถ้าการกระทำความผิดตามวรรคแรก เป็นเหตุให้ผู้ถูกหน่วงเหนี่ยวถูกกักขังหรือต้องปราศจากเสรีภาพในร่างกายนั้นถึงแก่ความตาย หรือรับอันตรายสาหัส ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษดังที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๙๐ มาตรา ๒๙๗ หรือมาตรา ๒๙๘ นั้น หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever detains or confines another person, or by any means deprives another person of liberty of the body, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both.
Where the offence under paragraph one causes the person detained, confined or deprived of liberty to die or to suffer grievous bodily harm, the offender shall be liable to the punishment provided in Section 290, Section 297 or Section 298.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 310 is the basic false-imprisonment offence in the Title on offences against liberty. Its elements are simply an act of detaining, confining, or otherwise depriving the victim of freedom of bodily movement, done intentionally and without lawful authority. No minimum period of confinement is fixed; even a short deprivation of liberty can satisfy the offence, provided intent is shown. It serves as the base provision for the aggravated forms in Section 311 (where the victim is left helpless, or suffers grievous harm or death) and is distinct from the ransom, trafficking, and abduction offences that follow, which add a specific unlawful purpose. Lawful detention, for example a valid arrest, falls outside the section.
Why this matters in practice
Basic deprivation of liberty carries up to three years' imprisonment, and it is one of the two offences that Section 321 makes compoundable, so the parties can settle and end the prosecution. That settlement leverage matters in family and business disputes where confinement is alleged. Watch the boundary with Section 311: if the confinement leaves the victim unable to help themselves or causes grievous harm or death, the case escalates well beyond the three-year ceiling and is no longer compoundable. Common defences include lawful authority to detain, consent, and absence of intent to restrain. Where a firearm, group, or ransom demand is present, prosecutors typically add the heavier related charges.
Cited in 328 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2025)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 8718/2559 (2016)
- Decision 7532/2557 (2014)
- Decision 19513-19514/2555 (2012)
- Decision 9046/2554 (2011)
- Decision 5131/2554 (2011)
- Decision 2385-2387/2554 (2011)
- Decision 6663/2550 (2007)
- Decision 415/2550 (2007)
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 91 225
- Section 83 209
- Section 90 134
- Section 78 124
- Section 309 113
- Section 276 82
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 there a minimum time of confinement for Section 310?
No. The section fixes no minimum period. Even a brief deprivation of another person's bodily liberty can constitute the offence if it is intentional and without lawful authority.
Can a Section 310 charge be settled?
Yes. Section 321 makes the basic offence under Section 310 compoundable, so the parties may settle and the right to prosecute can be extinguished.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 310 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 310. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-310/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 310 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-310/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-310/"><p>Whoever detains or confines another person, or by any means deprives another person of liberty of the body, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both. Where the offence under paragraph one causes the…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 310 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-310/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.