Section 88: Instigator or supporter preventing the result
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าความผิดที่ได้ใช้ ที่ได้โฆษณาหรือประกาศแก่บุคคลทั่วไปให้กระทำ หรือที่ได้สนับสนุนให้กระทำ ได้กระทำถึงขั้นลงมือกระทำความผิด แต่เนื่องจากการเข้าขัดขวางของผู้ใช้ ผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศ หรือผู้สนับสนุน ผู้กระทำได้กระทำไปไม่ตลอด หรือกระทำไปตลอดแล้ว แต่การกระทำนั้นไม่บรรลุผล ผู้ใช้หรือผู้โฆษณาหรือประกาศ คงรับผิดเพียงที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๘๔ วรรคสอง หรือมาตรา ๘๕ วรรคแรก แล้วแต่กรณี ส่วนผู้สนับสนุนนั้นไม่ต้องรับโทษ
English translation
If the offence that was instigated, that was advertised or proclaimed, or that was supported has been carried out to the stage of commencing commission of the offence but has not been carried through, or has been carried through but without achieving its result, because the instigator or the supporter has dissuaded it or has acted to prevent that act from achieving its result, the instigator remains liable under Section 84 paragraph two or Section 85 paragraph one, as the case may be, while the supporter shall not be punished.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 88 sits in Book 1's chapter on principals and supporters and completes the rules on instigation (Section 84) and on advertising or supporting an offence (Sections 85 and 86). Its operative condition is an active intervention: the instigator or supporter must have dissuaded the act or acted to stop it from producing its result, and the crime must have halted at the attempt stage or failed to achieve its result. The consequence is deliberately asymmetric, since the instigator keeps a residual liability under Section 84 paragraph two or Section 85 paragraph one while the supporter is fully excused. It reads alongside Section 82 on voluntary withdrawal by the actor and the attempt rules in Sections 80 and 81.
Why this matters in practice
For anyone accused as an instigator or supporter, this section is a real mitigation route: documented efforts to call off or block the crime can wipe out a supporter's punishment entirely and cut an instigator's exposure to the residual liability in Section 84 paragraph two or Section 85 paragraph one. The intervention must be genuine and aimed at stopping the result, not a passive change of heart, so evidence of the warning or the preventive act is what counts. Because liability for participation turns heavily on the facts, early advice pays off; you can book a consultation to assess exposure.
Cited in 2 Supreme Court decisions (1968 to 2012)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 22246/2555 (2012)
- Decision 595/2511 (1968)
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
Does Section 88 apply if I only changed my mind but did nothing?
No. Section 88 requires an active intervention: the instigator or supporter must have dissuaded the act or done something to stop the result. A silent change of heart is not enough.
Is a supporter still punished if the crime was prevented?
Under Section 88, if the offence stopped at attempt or failed because the supporter acted to prevent the result, the supporter is not punished. The instigator, however, keeps a reduced liability.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 88 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 88. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-88/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 88 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-88/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-88/"><p>If the offence that was instigated, that was advertised or proclaimed, or that was supported has been carried out to the stage of commencing commission of the offence but has not been carried through, or has been carried through but without achieving its result, because…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 88 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-88/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.