Section 337 — Extortion
English translation
Whoever threatens to cause injury to the life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the person threatened or of a third person, so that the person threatened gives or agrees to give property or any other benefit to the offender, commits the offence of extortion and shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Extortion under Section 337 sits in the chapter on extortion, blackmail, robbery and gang-robbery. Its elements are a threat to injure life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the victim or a third person, plus a resulting consent by the victim to give property or a benefit. The threat is the defining element: where there is no genuine coercive threat, the conduct does not amount to extortion. It is distinguished from robbery under Section 339, which requires the immediate use of, or threat to use, force to take property on the spot, whereas extortion works through a threat that induces the victim to hand over property or benefit. Blackmail under Section 338 is the special variant where the threat is to disclose a damaging secret.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure runs up to five years imprisonment plus a fine, and the statute uses "and" for the fine, so both can be imposed. A recurring defence, accepted by the courts, is that the alleged conduct was not in fact a threat: if the demand does not carry a coercive threat of harm, the complaint lacks an essential element and cannot stand. In practice the line between lawful hard bargaining or debt collection and criminal extortion turns on the presence and nature of the threat. Attempted extortion is also chargeable where the victim never yields. Anyone accused should preserve the exact wording of the alleged threat and its context. Learn more about criminal law in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3123/2564 (2021)
A genuine threat is an essential element of extortion. Where the accused's conduct is not a threat, the charge lacks the element of extortion under Section 337 paragraph one and the complaint is unlawful.
The court found the accused had not threatened the victim with prosecution, and the conduct was only to avoid inspection of the shop. Because the act was not a threat, the complaint lacked the essential element of extortion and was held unlawful.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2966/2568 (2025)
Extortion under Section 337 must be distinguished from robbery under Section 339 on the facts, since the defence may contest whether taking property amounted to extortion rather than robbery.
The defendant argued that the conduct amounted only to extortion under Section 337, together with other offences, and not to robbery under Section 339. The decision illustrates how the two property offences are separated by whether the taking rested on a threat or on force used to seize property.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for extortion in Thailand?
Under Section 337, extortion carries imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht.
What is the difference between extortion and robbery?
Extortion under Section 337 uses a threat to make the victim give property or a benefit, while robbery under Section 339 involves force or an immediate threat of force to take the property on the spot.
Is a demand for money always extortion?
No. The offence requires a threat to harm life, body, liberty, reputation or property. Where there is no coercive threat, the conduct is not extortion under Section 337.