Section 335/2: Theft of religious property
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดลักทรัพย์ที่เป็นพระพุทธรูปหรือวัตถุในทางศาสนา ถ้าทรัพย์นั้นเป็นที่สักการะบูชาของประชาชน หรือเก็บรักษาไว้เป็นสมบัติของชาติ หรือส่วนหนึ่งส่วนใดของพระพุทธรูป หรือวัตถุดังกล่าว ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สามปีถึงสิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่หกหมื่นบาทถึงสองแสนบาท ถ้าการกระทำความผิดตามวรรคแรก ได้กระทำในวัด สำนักสงฆ์ สถานอันเป็นที่เคารพในทางศาสนา โบราณสถานอันเป็นทรัพย์สินของแผ่นดิน สถานที่ราชการหรือพิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติ ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่ห้าปีถึงสิบห้าปี และปรับตั้งแต่หนึ่งแสนบาทถึงสามแสนบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๑๐ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever steals a Buddha image or a religious object, where that object is an object of public worship or is kept as national property, or steals a part of such an image or object, shall be liable to imprisonment from three to ten years and a fine from sixty thousand to two hundred thousand baht.
Where the offence under paragraph one is committed in a temple, a monastic residence, a place of religious veneration, an ancient monument which is property of the State, a government building or a national museum, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from five to fifteen years and a fine from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 335 bis is an aggravated form of theft within Book II, Title XII (Offences Against Property), Chapter I (Theft and Snatching). It elevates ordinary theft under Section 334 where the stolen item is a Buddha image or religious object that is publicly venerated, held as national heritage, or a part of such an item, and it adds a second, heavier tier where the act is committed inside a sacred or protected location such as a temple, monastery, state ancient monument, government building, or national museum. The offence turns on proof that the item genuinely qualifies as a Buddha image or religious object, an element that must be established on the facts. It sits alongside the parallel aggravated provisions that apply the same protected-property concept to more serious modes of taking: robbery under Section 339 bis and gang-robbery under Sections 340 bis and 340 ter, each carrying markedly higher penalties.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is significant: even the base tier starts at three years' imprisonment, and theft inside a temple or museum starts at five years, with mandatory fines in both tiers. Theft is a non-compoundable public offence, so the case is driven by the public prosecutor and cannot be settled privately to end criminal liability, though restitution can mitigate sentence. A frequent stacking issue is Section 336 bis, which raises the penalty by one half where a weapon or vehicle is used, so the practical sentence can run well above the headline range. Anyone facing a charge of this kind should consult a Thai lawyer early, as the classification of the item and the location both drive the penalty tier.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 9193/2552 (2009)
A Buddha image kept in an old, abandoned and cluttered funeral pavilion, not placed where the public may venerate it and with no offerings before it, is not an object of public worship within Section 335 bis paragraph one. Stealing it inside the temple therefore does not fall under paragraph two, and a funeral pavilion, being for funeral rites, is not a public place of worship within Section 335 (9).
The defendant and others stole a Buddha image from inside the injured temple, and the lower courts convicted under Section 335 bis paragraph two with Section 336 bis. The Supreme Court held the image was not an object of public worship, because it was kept in a derelict old funeral pavilion with nothing set before it, so neither paragraph of Section 335 bis applied, and the pavilion was not a public place of worship within Section 335 (9). The offence was joint theft by two or more persons using a vehicle, under Section 335 (7) paragraph one with Sections 336 bis and 83. The point was one of public order, which the Court took of its own motion although the defendant had not raised it.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4526/2559 (2016)
The aggravated liability attached to religious property applies only where the item is proven on the facts to be an object in religion; where that is not established, the enhanced penalty cannot be imposed.
The court held that where it could not be established that the deity images and their fittings were objects in religion, the defendant could not be punished under the aggravated tier, confirming that the religious-object element must be proven, not assumed.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 7126/2542 (1999)
Section 336 bis is a provision that increases the penalty for theft offences, including under Section 335 bis, by one half; it is not a sentence enhancement for recidivism under Sections 92 and 93.
In a theft involving a gold-framed Buddha amulet, the court corrected the lower court's method, holding that Section 336 bis raises the statutory penalty by half and is not applied as a recidivism enhancement.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 24 Supreme Court decisions (1972 to 2018)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 9193/2552 (2009)
- Decision 2361/2542 (1999)
- Decision 1554/2539 (1996)
- Decision 3110/2537 (1994)
- Decision 5066/2533 (1990)
- Decision 2226/2531 (1988)
- Decision 1812/2527 (1984)
- Decision 157-158/2520 (1977)
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 335 16
- Section 83 14
- Section 78 10
- Section 336/2 9
- Section 357 8
- Thai CrPC s. 192 4
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 is the penalty for stealing a Buddha image in Thailand?
Under Section 335 bis the base penalty is three to ten years' imprisonment plus a fine of 60,000 to 200,000 baht. If the theft is committed inside a temple, a sacred place, a state monument, a government building, or a national museum, it rises to five to fifteen years and a fine of 100,000 to 300,000 baht.
Does the higher penalty apply only inside a temple?
The higher tier applies where the act occurs in any of the listed protected places: a temple, a monastery, a place of religious veneration, an ancient monument that is state property, a government place, or a national museum. Theft of the same item elsewhere still falls under the base tier of the section.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 335/2 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 335/2. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-335-2/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 335/2 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-335-2/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-335-2/"><p>Whoever steals a Buddha image or a religious object, where that object is an object of public worship or is kept as national property, or steals a part of such an image or object, shall be liable to imprisonment from three to ten years and…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 335/2 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-335-2/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.