Section 340: Gang-robbery
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดชิงทรัพย์โดยร่วมกันกระทำความผิดด้วยกันตั้งแต่สามคนขึ้นไป ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานปล้นทรัพย์ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบปีถึงสิบห้าปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองแสนบาทถึงสามแสนบาท ถ้าในการปล้นทรัพย์ ผู้กระทำแม้แต่คนหนึ่งคนใดมีอาวุธติดตัวไปด้วย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบสองปีถึงยี่สิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองแสนสี่หมื่นบาทถึงสี่แสนบาท ถ้าการปล้นทรัพย์เป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นรับอันตรายสาหัส ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตลอดชีวิต หรือจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบห้าปีถึงยี่สิบปี ถ้าการปล้นทรัพย์ได้กระทำโดยแสดงความทารุณจนเป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นรับอันตรายแก่กายหรือจิตใจ ใช้ปืนยิง ใช้วัตถุระเบิด หรือกระทำทรมาน ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตลอดชีวิต หรือจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบห้าปีถึงยี่สิบปี ถ้าการปล้นทรัพย์เป็นเหตุให้ผู้อื่นถึงแก่ความตาย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษประหารชีวิต หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever commits robbery together with two or more other persons commits the offence of gang robbery and shall be liable to imprisonment from ten to fifteen years and a fine from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht.
Where any one of the offenders carries a weapon, the offenders shall be liable to imprisonment from twelve to twenty years and a fine from two hundred and forty thousand to four hundred thousand baht.
Where the gang robbery causes grievous bodily harm to another person, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for life, or to imprisonment from fifteen to twenty years.
Where the gang robbery is committed with acts of cruelty causing harm to the body or mind of another person, by shooting with a gun, by using an explosive, or by torture, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for life, or to imprisonment from fifteen to twenty years.
Where the gang robbery causes the death of another person, the offender shall be liable to death.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Gang-robbery under Section 340 is the aggravated group form of robbery under Section 339: it requires that robbery be committed jointly by three or more persons. Paragraph two adds a further, weapon-based aggravation where any one of the offenders carries a weapon, raising the range to twelve to twenty years. The weapon element is satisfied by carrying a weapon that is ready to be used in the offence, even if it is not actually used, because the law aims to deter escalation to serious harm. Section 340 ter provides an additional enhancement for use of a vehicle or concealment of identity in robbery or gang-robbery. The heavy penalty band reflects both the collective nature of the offence and the danger of violence.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is severe, with a ten-year minimum that rises to twelve years when a weapon is involved, and gang-robbery is not compoundable. A key point of contest is the count and coordination of participants: the three-or-more requirement must be proved, and reducing the number of proven co-offenders below three may change the offence to robbery. On the weapon aggravation, courts treat a firearm carried and ready for use as sufficient even if never fired, so a defence based on non-use of the weapon may not succeed. Given the stakes, early representation is important. See our overview of criminal law in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5681/2568 (2025)
Where the law aggravates an offence for carrying a firearm, as in Section 340 paragraph two, a firearm carried and ready for use suffices; it need not actually be used, because the provision is designed to deter escalation to lethal harm.
The Supreme Court explained that firearms are inherently dangerous and that several provisions, including Section 340 paragraph two, aggravate the penalty for carrying one. Carrying a firearm close at hand and ready for use is enough to bring the aggravation into play even if it is not used in the offence.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 561 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2025)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 415/2560 (2017)
- Decision 9647/2559 (2016)
- Decision 5411/2558 (2015)
- Decision 947/2556 (2013)
- Decision 4398/2555 (2012)
- Decision 14997/2555 (2012)
- Decision 9844/2555 (2012)
- Decision 3519/2555 (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 83 401
- Section 340/3 314
- Section 78 261
- Section 91 188
- Section 289 134
- Section 90 108
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
How many people are needed for gang-robbery?
Section 340 requires robbery committed jointly by three or more persons. With fewer than three proven participants, the offence is robbery under Section 339 rather than gang-robbery.
Does carrying a weapon increase the penalty even if it is not used?
Yes. Under paragraph two, if any offender carries a weapon the penalty rises to twelve to twenty years, and courts treat a weapon that is ready for use as sufficient even if not actually used.
What is the penalty for gang-robbery in Thailand?
Imprisonment from ten to fifteen years and a fine of two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht, rising to twelve to twenty years and a larger fine if any offender carries a weapon.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 340 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 340. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-340/ (accessed 19 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 340 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-340/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-340/"><p>Whoever commits robbery together with two or more other persons commits the offence of gang robbery and shall be liable to imprisonment from ten to fifteen years and a fine from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht. Where any one of the offenders…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 340 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-340/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.