Section 87: Liability where the offence exceeds what was instigated
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่มีการกระทำความผิดเพราะมีผู้ใช้ให้กระทำตามมาตรา ๘๔ เพราะมีผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิดตามมาตรา ๘๕ หรือโดยมีผู้สนับสนุนตามมาตรา ๘๖ ถ้าความผิดที่เกิดขึ้นนั้น ผู้กระทำได้กระทำไปเกินขอบเขตที่ใช้หรือที่โฆษณาหรือประกาศ หรือเกินไปจากเจตนาของผู้สนับสนุน ผู้ใช้ให้กระทำความผิด ผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิด หรือผู้สนับสนุนการกระทำความผิด แล้วแต่กรณี ต้องรับผิดทางอาญาเพียงสำหรับความผิดเท่าที่อยู่ในขอบเขตที่ใช้ หรือที่โฆษณาหรือประกาศ หรืออยู่ในขอบเขตแห่งเจตนาของผู้สนับสนุนการกระทำความผิดเท่านั้น แต่ถ้าโดยพฤติการณ์อาจเล็งเห็นได้ว่า อาจเกิดการกระทำความผิดเช่นที่เกิดขึ้นนั้นได้จากการใช้ การโฆษณา หรือประกาศ หรือการสนับสนุน ผู้ใช้ให้กระทำความผิด ผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิด หรือผู้สนับสนุนการกระทำความผิด แล้วแต่กรณี ต้องรับผิดทางอาญาตามความผิดที่เกิดขึ้นนั้น ในกรณีที่ผู้ถูกใช้ ผู้กระทำตามคำโฆษณา หรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิด หรือตัวการในความผิด จะต้องรับผิดทางอาญามีกำหนดโทษสูงขึ้นเพราะอาศัยผลที่เกิดจากการกระทำความผิด ผู้ใช้ให้กระทำความผิด ผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิด หรือผู้สนับสนุนการกระทำความผิด แล้วแต่กรณี ต้องรับผิดทางอาญาตามความผิดที่มีกำหนดโทษสูงขึ้นนั้นด้วย แต่ถ้าโดยลักษณะของความผิด ผู้กระทำจะต้องรับผิดทางอาญามีกำหนดโทษสูงขึ้นเฉพาะเมื่อผู้กระทำต้องรู้ หรืออาจเล็งเห็นได้ว่าจะเกิดผลเช่นนั้นขึ้น ผู้ใช้ให้กระทำความผิด ผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำความผิด หรือผู้สนับสนุนการกระทำความผิด จะต้องรับผิดทางอาญาตามความผิดที่มีกำหนดโทษสูงขึ้นก็เฉพาะเมื่อตนได้รู้ หรืออาจเล็งเห็นได้ว่าจะเกิดผลเช่นที่เกิดขึ้นนั้น
English translation
Where an offence is committed because a person instigated it under Section 84, because a person advertised or announced to the general public that it be committed under Section 85, or because a person gave support under Section 86, and the offence that occurred was committed beyond the scope of the instigation, of the advertisement or announcement, or beyond the intention of the supporter, the instigator, the person who advertised or announced to the general public, or the supporter, as the case may be, shall be criminally liable only for the offence falling within the scope of the instigation, of the advertisement or announcement, or within the scope of the supporter's intention. But if in the circumstances it could be foreseen that an offence such as the one that occurred might result from the instigation, the advertisement or announcement, or the support, then the instigator, the person who advertised or announced to the general public, or the supporter, as the case may be, shall be criminally liable for the offence that occurred.
Where the person instigated, the person who acted in accordance with the advertisement or announcement to the general public, or a principal in the offence becomes liable to a heavier punishment by reason of a result arising from the commission of the offence, the instigator, the person who advertised or announced to the general public, or the supporter, as the case may be, shall also be criminally liable for that more heavily punishable offence. But where, by the nature of the offence, the offender is liable to the heavier punishment only if the offender must have known, or could have foreseen, that such a result would occur, then the instigator, the person who advertised or announced to the general public, or the supporter shall be liable for that more heavily punishable offence only if that person knew, or could have foreseen, that a result such as the one that occurred would occur.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 87, closing the Title on Principals and Supporters in Book 1, governs the derivative liability of the instigator, advertiser and supporter when the actual offender overshoots. On the scope of the offence the default rule is protective: each is liable only for the offence within the scope of what they instigated, advertised, or supported, not for the offender's excess, unless in the circumstances it could be foreseen that an offence such as the one that occurred might result, in which case they answer for the excess too. On an aggravating result the default runs the other way, and this is the part most often stated backwards. Where a result of the offence makes the person instigated or a principal liable to a heavier punishment, the instigator, advertiser or supporter is also liable for that more heavily punishable offence, and no separate inquiry into their own foresight is required. The knowledge test enters only where the offence is of a kind in which the offender's own heavier liability is itself conditional on the offender having known or been able to foresee the result; there the same test is then applied to the instigator, advertiser or supporter. Knowledge is therefore the exception for aggravating results, not the rule. The section applies across sections 84, 85 and 86.
Why this matters in practice
For anyone charged as an instigator, advertiser, or supporter, this section is a shield on the scope of the offence: liability normally stops at the offence within the scope of what they set in motion, and the prosecution must show that an offence such as the one that occurred could have been foreseen before the excess is added. It is not a shield against an aggravating result. Where a result makes the actual offender liable to a heavier punishment, the section carries that heavier liability across without requiring proof of the accessory's own foresight, so an escalation by the principal does in general reach them. The narrow answer to it is that some offences make the offender's own heavier liability conditional on the offender having known or been able to foresee the result; only in that class does the same test protect the instigator, advertiser or supporter. Identifying which class the aggravated offence falls into is therefore the first question, before any argument about what the accused actually foresaw.
Cited in 13 Supreme Court decisions (1967 to 2016)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 39/2534 (1991)
- Decision 4941/2528 (1985)
- Decision 9024/2550 (2007)
- Decision 4019/2549 (2006)
- Decision 1269/2513 (1970)
- Decision 15732/2557 (2014)
- Decision 17866/2555 (2012)
- Decision 280/2510 (1967)
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 78 8
- Section 288 7
- Section 91 7
- Section 83 6
- Section 289 5
- Section 84 5
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 an instigator liable if the offender does more than was asked?
Under section 87, generally no; the instigator is liable only for the offence within the scope of the instigation. But they are liable for the excess if it could be foreseen as an ordinary result.
When does a supporter get the heavier punishment for an aggravating result?
As a rule, automatically. Under section 87, where a result of the offence makes the person instigated or a principal liable to a heavier punishment, the instigator, the person who advertised or announced, or the supporter is also liable for that more heavily punishable offence, and no separate proof of that person's own foresight is required. The knowledge test applies only to the narrower class of offence in which the offender's own heavier liability is itself conditional on the offender having known, or having been able to foresee, that such a result would occur. In that class, and only there, is the instigator, advertiser or supporter liable for the heavier offence only if that person knew or could have foreseen a result such as the one that occurred.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 87 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 87. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-87/ (accessed 10 September 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 87 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-87/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-87/"><p>Where an offence is committed because a person instigated it under Section 84, because a person advertised or announced to the general public that it be committed under Section 85, or because a person gave support under Section 86, and the offence that occurred was…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 87 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-87/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.