Section 374: Failing to help a person in danger of death

Firm annotation

Section 374 is the Code's duty to rescue and one of its very few offences of pure omission. Its elements are (1) seeing another person in danger of losing his life, (2) being able to help without risk of danger to himself or to a third person, and (3) failing to give such help as is necessary. Each element is a real limit. The danger must be to life: danger to health, to property or of injury short of death does not engage the section. The rescuer is never required to take a risk, so where helping would endanger the rescuer or anyone else there is simply no duty. And the obligation is to give the help that is necessary, which for most bystanders means summoning help rather than intervening in person, so a passer-by who calls the emergency services has discharged it. The duty falls on any bystander, which is what separates this offence from Section 307, where liability rests on a pre-existing duty under the law or under a contract to care for a person unable to care for themselves and the penalty reaches three years. Here the penalty is up to one month, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. That makes it a petty offence under Section 102, so Section 104 removes the requirement of intention, Section 105 and Section 106 exclude attempts and supporters, and Section 95(5) bars prosecution after one year. The current rate was set by Section 6 of the Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 22) B.E. 2558.