Section 359: Aggravated mischief, specific property
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าการกระทำความผิดตามมาตรา ๓๕๘ ได้กระทำต่อ (๑) เครื่องกลหรือเครื่องจักรที่ใช้ในการประกอบกสิกรรมหรืออุตสาหกรรม (๒) ปศุสัตว์ (๓) ยวดยานหรือสัตว์พาหนะที่ใช้ในการขนส่งสาธารณะหรือในการประกอบกสิกรรมหรืออุตสาหกรรม หรือ (๔) พืชหรือพืชผลของกสิกร ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินห้าปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
If the offence under Section 358 is committed against (1) machinery or engines used in agriculture or industry, (2) livestock, (3) vehicles or draught animals used in public transport, or (4) crops of a farmer, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 359 is an aggravated form of mischief. It does not create a separate offence; it raises the penalty of Section 358 from three years to five where the damaged property falls into one of four protected categories: agricultural or industrial machinery, livestock, public-transport vehicles or draught animals, and a farmer's crops. The common thread is that these assets are economically vital to agriculture, industry, and public transport, so their destruction causes wider harm than damage to ordinary property. Charges are pleaded as Section 358 read with Section 359, and where the additional element under Section 359 is not proved the conviction falls back to plain mischief under Section 358.
Why this matters in practice
This section frequently arises in rural disputes, where damaging or destroying a farmer's crops or livestock is charged, and the higher five-year exposure changes the stakes compared with ordinary mischief. The key contested points are whether the property genuinely falls into one of the four categories and whether the accused intended the damage. Note that the aggravated form is not made compoundable by Section 361, which covers only plain Section 358 mischief, so settlement does not automatically dispose of a Section 359 charge. Damage to crops is often paired with trespass. See the general framework in criminal law in Thailand.
Cited in 60 Supreme Court decisions (1958 to 2022)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 3119/2558 (2015)
- Decision 2063/2549 (2006)
- Decision 3515/2541 (1998)
- Decision 2264/2538 (1995)
- Decision 294/2537 (1994)
- Decision 129/2532 (1989)
- Decision 1242/2531 (1988)
- Decision 3774/2529 (1986)
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 358 53
- Section 83 27
- Section 362 23
- Section 365 20
- Section 91 13
- Section 29 13
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 mischief carry five years instead of three?
Under Section 359 the penalty rises to five years when the damaged property is agricultural or industrial machinery, livestock, a public-transport vehicle or draught animal, or a farmer's crops.
Is destroying a farmer's crops covered?
Yes. Damaging or destroying a farmer's crops falls under item (4) of Section 359 and carries the heavier five-year penalty.
Is a Section 359 charge compoundable?
No. Section 361 makes only plain Section 358 mischief compoundable, so a settlement does not automatically end an aggravated charge under Section 359.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 359 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 359. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-359/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 359 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-359/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-359/"><p>If the offence under Section 358 is committed against (1) machinery or engines used in agriculture or industry, (2) livestock, (3) vehicles or draught animals used in public transport, or (4) crops of a farmer, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 359 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-359/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.