Section 395: Allowing an animal to stray onto cultivated land
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดควบคุมสัตว์ใด ๆ ปล่อยปละละเลยให้สัตว์นั้นเข้าในสวน ไร่หรือนาของผู้อื่นที่ได้แต่งดินไว้ เพาะพันธุ์ไว้ หรือมีพืชพันธุ์หรือผลิตผลอยู่ ต้องระวางโทษปรับไม่เกินห้าพันบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๘]
English translation
Whoever, having control of any animal, allows that animal to stray into a garden, a field, or a paddy field of another person which has been tilled or sown, or in which there are plants or produce, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand baht.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are having control of an animal, neglectfully allowing it to stray, and land of another person that has been tilled or sown or that carries plants or produce. Bare land that has not been worked falls outside the section. This is the negligence counterpart of Section 394: there the offender drives, herds or causes the animal to enter, which is a deliberate act and carries imprisonment of up to one month or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both; here the offender merely fails to keep the animal under control, and the penalty is a fine alone, not exceeding 5,000 baht. The rate was set by Section 6 of the Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 22) B.E. 2558.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is a fine of up to 5,000 baht and no more, so the criminal side of a straying-livestock dispute is small; what usually matters to the landowner is compensation for the damaged crop, which is a civil claim and is not limited by the fine. The two questions that decide the charge are whether the accused had control of the animal and whether the entry was the result of neglect rather than a deliberate act, since driving or herding the animal in is the heavier offence under Section 394. Evidence of fencing, tethering and supervision is what answers the neglect allegation; see criminal law in Thailand.
Cited in 3 Supreme Court decisions (1963 to 1986)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 1137/2506 (1963)
- Decision 1112/2506 (1963)
- Decision 2815/2529 (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.
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 does Section 395 punish?
A person having control of an animal who neglectfully allows it to stray into another person's garden, field or paddy field that has been tilled or sown, or that carries plants or produce.
What is the penalty under Section 395?
A fine not exceeding 5,000 baht. The section provides no imprisonment.
How does Section 395 differ from Section 394?
Section 394 covers driving, herding or causing an animal to enter such land, which is deliberate and carries up to one month's imprisonment or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. Section 395 covers merely allowing the animal to stray, and carries a fine of up to 5,000 baht.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 395 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 395. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-395/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 395 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-395/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-395/"><p>Whoever, having control of any animal, allows that animal to stray into a garden, a field, or a paddy field of another person which has been tilled or sown, or in which there are plants or produce, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 395 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-395/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.