Section 371: Carrying a weapon in public
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดพาอาวุธไปในเมือง หมู่บ้านหรือทางสาธารณะโดยเปิดเผยหรือโดยไม่มีเหตุสมควร หรือพาไปในชุมนุมชนที่ได้จัดให้มีขึ้นเพื่อนมัสการ การรื่นเริงหรือการอื่นใด ต้องระวางโทษปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งพันบาท และให้ศาลมีอำนาจสั่งให้ริบอาวุธนั้น
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
Whoever carries a weapon into a town, a village or a public way, openly or without reasonable cause, or carries a weapon into an assembly of people gathered for worship, festivity or any other purpose, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht, and the court has power to order the forfeiture of that weapon.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are carrying a weapon (1) into a town, village or public way, either openly or without reasonable cause, or (2) into an assembly gathered for worship, festivity or any other purpose. Reasonable cause is the key filter, so carrying a tool or implement for a legitimate purpose may fall outside the offence, while carrying it openly or for no good reason in public is caught. As a petty weapons offence it is commonly charged together with, but is separate from, possession or carrying offences under the Firearms Act, which protect different interests, and it frequently accompanies more serious violent-crime charges arising from the same event.
Why this matters in practice
The section carries no imprisonment at all, only a fine of up to 1,000 baht and forfeiture of the weapon, so on its own this is a minor charge, but it is a frequent companion to firearms-act offences and to violent crimes such as assault, robbery or attempted homicide committed with the weapon. The central defence is reasonable cause for carrying the item, considering its nature and the circumstances. Because a knife, blade or firearm carried in public will usually trigger this section alongside heavier charges, the practical focus is normally on the more serious counts. Where firearms are involved, an accused should expect parallel liability under the Firearms Act as a distinct offence.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6267/2568 (2025)
Carrying a firearm in a town, village or public way without a licence and without reasonable cause is one act breaching several laws, Section 371 and section 8 bis of the Firearms Act B.E. 2490, so punishment follows the heavier of them under Section 90. Bringing the firearm into an entertainment venue is a separate offence: the intent and the elements differ, and the Entertainment Places Act B.E. 2509 is aimed at protecting the people who use such venues.
The defendant pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm in public without a licence and to bringing it into an entertainment venue. Sitting in plenary session, the Supreme Court held that although the acts followed one another on the same occasion, their intent and their elements differ, so they can be separated, and the purpose of the Entertainment Places Act is to protect those using such venues. They were therefore separate offences. The carrying offence was itself one act breaching several laws, punished under the Firearms Act as the heavier provision with a fine of 2,000 baht, rather than under Section 371 in addition.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 1,050 Supreme Court decisions (1970 to 2026)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 2781/2565 (2022)
- Decision 5425/2564 (2021)
- Decision 1020/2563 (2020)
- Decision 9126/2560 (2017)
- Decision 4313/2560 (2017)
- Decision 289/2560 (2017)
- Decision 10129/2559 (2016)
- Decision 9284/2559 (2016)
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 91 942
- Section 78 654
- Section 90 556
- Section 288 552
- Section 83 508
- Section 80 423
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
Is carrying a knife in public an offence in Thailand?
Under Section 371 carrying a weapon openly or without reasonable cause in a town, village or public way is a petty offence, punishable by a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht, and the court has power to order the weapon forfeited.
Is Section 371 the same as a Firearms Act charge?
No. Carrying a weapon under Section 371 is a separate offence from possessing or carrying a firearm under the Firearms Act, and both may be charged from the same incident.
Is there a defence of reasonable cause?
Yes. Carrying an item for a legitimate purpose, judged by its nature and the circumstances, can amount to reasonable cause and fall outside the offence.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 371 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 371. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-371/ (accessed 19 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 371 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-371/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-371/"><p>Whoever carries a weapon into a town, a village or a public way, openly or without reasonable cause, or carries a weapon into an assembly of people gathered for worship, festivity or any other purpose, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 371 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-371/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.