Section 398: Cruelty to a dependent child, sick or aged person
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำด้วยประการใด ๆ อันเป็นการทารุณต่อเด็กอายุยังไม่เกินสิบห้าปี คนป่วยเจ็บหรือคนชรา ซึ่งต้องพึ่งผู้นั้นในการดำรงชีพหรือการอื่นใด ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งเดือน หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๘]
English translation
Whoever does any act of cruelty to a child not over fifteen years of age, to a sick person, or to an aged person, who depends on that offender for subsistence or for any other matter, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are (1) an act of cruelty by any means, (2) directed at a child not over fifteen, a sick person or an aged person, and (3) a relationship of dependence, in that the victim depends on the offender for subsistence or for any other matter. The dependence requirement is what distinguishes this section from general assault: it targets the carer, the household member or the employer on whom the victim relies, and it reaches neglect and mistreatment falling short of bodily harm. It is the final section of the Penal Code and it is a substantive petty offence with its own penalty of up to one month, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. Where the conduct causes actual injury the offences against body from Section 295 onwards apply and are far heavier, and where a child is involved the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546 provides separate protective powers and penalties.
Why this matters in practice
This section matters more than its penalty suggests, because it is the Penal Code's dedicated provision for cruelty inside a relationship of dependence: elderly parents, sick relatives, children under fifteen, and live-in domestic staff who rely on an employer for board and lodging. The prosecution must establish the dependence, so evidence of who provided food, housing, money or care is usually decisive. The one-month maximum means that in serious cases the real charges lie elsewhere, in the offences against body, the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546, or the Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act, and Section 398 tends to be used where the mistreatment is real but does not amount to bodily harm.
Cited in 1 Supreme Court decisions (1992 to 1992)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 321/2535 (1992)
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 398 do?
It punishes any act of cruelty towards a child not over fifteen, a sick person, or an aged person who depends on the offender for subsistence or any other matter. The penalty is up to one month in prison, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. It is a substantive offence, not a rule about compounding or settlement.
What has to be proved under Section 398?
An act of cruelty, a victim who is a child under fifteen, a sick person or an aged person, and a relationship of dependence on the offender. The dependence is the element that separates this section from ordinary assault, so evidence of who provided food, housing, money or care is usually decisive.
Is a Section 398 case more serious than the penalty suggests?
Often yes. The one-month maximum means that in serious cases the real charges lie elsewhere, in the offences against body from Section 295 onwards, the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546, or the Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 398 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 398. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-398/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 398 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-398/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-398/"><p>Whoever does any act of cruelty to a child not over fifteen years of age, to a sick person, or to an aged person, who depends on that offender for subsistence or for any other matter, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 398 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-398/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
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