Section 339: Robbery
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดลักทรัพย์โดยใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย หรือขู่เข็ญว่าในทันใดนั้นจะใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย เพื่อ (๑) ให้ความสะดวกแก่การลักทรัพย์หรือการพาทรัพย์นั้นไป (๒) ให้ยื่นให้ซึ่งทรัพย์นั้น (๓) ยึดถือเอาทรัพย์นั้นไว้ (๔) ปกปิดการกระทำความผิดนั้น หรือ (๕) ให้พ้นจากการจับกุม ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานชิงทรัพย์ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่ห้าปีถึงสิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่หนึ่งแสนบาทถึงสองแสนบาท ถ้าความผิดนั้นเป็นการกระทำที่ประกอบด้วยลักษณะดังที่บัญญัติไว้ในอนุมาตราหนึ่งอนุมาตราใดแห่งมาตรา ๓๓๕ หรือเป็นการกระทำต่อทรัพย์ที่เป็นโค กระบือ เครื่องกลหรือเครื่องจักรที่ผู้มีอาชีพกสิกรรมมีไว้สำหรับประกอบกสิกรรม ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบปีถึงสิบห้าปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองแสนบาทถึงสามแสนบาท ถ้าการชิงทรัพย์เป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นรับอันตรายแก่กายหรือจิตใจ ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบปีถึงยี่สิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองแสนบาทถึงสี่แสนบาท ถ้าการชิงทรัพย์เป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นรับอันตรายสาหัส ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบห้าปีถึงยี่สิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่สามแสนบาทถึงสี่แสนบาท ถ้าการชิงทรัพย์เป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นถึงแก่ความตาย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษประหารชีวิต หรือจำคุกตลอดชีวิต หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๑๐ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever commits theft by using violence, or by threatening immediately to use violence, in order to:
(1) facilitate the theft or the carrying away of the property;
(2) obtain delivery of the property;
(3) retain the property;
(4) conceal the commission of the offence; or
(5) escape arrest,commits the offence of robbery and shall be liable to imprisonment from five to ten years and a fine from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand baht.
Where the offence has the characteristics of any sub-paragraph of Section 335, or is committed against cattle, buffalo, machinery or mechanical equipment held by a person following the occupation of agriculture for that agriculture, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from ten to fifteen years and a fine from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht.
Where the robbery causes harm to the body or mind of another person, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from ten to twenty years and a fine from two hundred thousand to four hundred thousand baht.
Where the robbery causes grievous bodily harm to another person, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from fifteen to twenty years and a fine from three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand baht.
Where the robbery causes the death of another person, the offender shall be liable to death or to imprisonment for life.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Robbery under Section 339 is aggravated theft: it combines the taking of another's property (theft) with force, or the immediate threat of force, directed to one of the five listed purposes. The force or threat distinguishes robbery from ordinary theft under Section 334 and from extortion under Section 337, where the victim is induced to give property rather than having it taken by force. Where three or more offenders act together the offence becomes gang-robbery under Section 340, and Section 340 ter adds further aggravation for use of a vehicle or concealment of identity. The penalty band, five to ten years, reflects the combination of property loss and violence or the threat of violence.
Why this matters in practice
Robbery is a serious, non-compoundable offence, so repaying the victim does not end the case, though it may mitigate sentence. Exposure starts at a five-year minimum. Common defence themes are whether force or an immediate threat of force actually accompanied the taking (which separates robbery from plain theft), and whether the accused shared the intent behind the taking. Where the prosecution has not charged and proved an aggravating feature, the court cannot convict of the more serious form on its own initiative. If a vehicle was used or identity concealed, expect Section 340 ter to be added. Learn more about criminal law in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 811/2568 (2025)
Robbery committed while concealing identity to avoid recognition and using a vehicle to commit the crime, carry the property, or escape arrest falls under Section 339 combined with Section 340 ter.
The court characterized the robbery as one committed with concealment of identity and use of a vehicle, placing it under Section 339 read with Section 340 ter, and the defendant was sentenced accordingly before mitigation.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1546/2568 (2025)
A conviction for robbery rests on the elements charged and proved; where the prosecution has not established an uncharged aggravating feature such as theft with a weapon, the court cannot substitute that more serious characterization.
The defendant was convicted under Section 339(1). The Supreme Court noted it could not convict of the uncharged aggravated form of theft with a weapon where the facts to support it had not been established at trial.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 454 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2025)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 811/2568 (2025)
- Decision 12079/2558 (2015)
- Decision 3116/2558 (2015)
- Decision 5891/2557 (2014)
- Decision 4166/2557 (2014)
- Decision 19406/2555 (2012)
- Decision 13642/2555 (2012)
- Decision 3656/2555 (2012)
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 83 240
- Section 78 208
- Section 340/3 207
- Section 91 163
- Section 371 100
- Section 80 86
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 theft become robbery in Thailand?
Under Section 339, theft becomes robbery when the offender uses force, or threatens that force will be used at once, for one of the listed purposes such as facilitating the taking or escaping arrest.
What is the penalty for robbery?
Section 339 sets imprisonment from five years to ten years and a fine from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand baht, with heavier penalties if it becomes gang-robbery under Section 340.
Is robbery compoundable if the property is returned?
No. Robbery is not a compoundable offence, so returning the property or repaying the victim does not end the case, although it may reduce the sentence.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 339 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 339. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-339/ (accessed 19 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 339 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-339/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-339/"><p>Whoever commits theft by using violence, or by threatening immediately to use violence, in order to: (1) facilitate the theft or the carrying away of the property; (2) obtain delivery of the property; (3) retain the property; (4) conceal the commission of the offence; or…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 339 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-339/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.