Translation:Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 24), 2558 BE

by National Legislative Assembly of Thailand

Table of contents 

The Act

Preamble

Section

1. Title
2. Commencement
3. Amendment to §1: definition of "child pornography"
4. Insertion of §§287/1 and 287/2: offences relating to child pornography

Statement of grounds

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Seal of the Royal Command

Act
Amending the Penal Code (No. 24),
2558 BE

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Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 25th day of August 2558 BE
Being the 70th year of the present reign

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramin Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej gives a great royal command by which He orders with His pleasure that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to amend the Penal Code;

Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the National Legislative Assembly, He orders with His gracious pleasure that the following Act be enacted:

Section⁠1.⁠This Act is called the "Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 24), 2558 BE".

Section⁠2.⁠This Act shall come into force upon expiry of a limit of ninety days reckoned from the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section⁠3.⁠The following stipulations shall be inserted in the Penal Code as (17) of section 1:

"(17)⁠"child pornography" means objects or materials^[1] which allow to be known or seen a sexual act of a child or with a child whose age is not over eighteen years, and of which images,^[2] stories, or characteristics^[3] can be imparted in an immodest way, whether they be in the form of documents, drawings, prints,^[4] paintings, printed materials, pictures,^[5] posters,^[6] signs, photographs, films, audio tapes, video tapes, or in any other form with similar characteristics, and shall include any of the aforementioned^[7] objects or materials which are stored in a computer system or in a different electronic device capable of displaying a comprehensible result".

Section⁠4.⁠The following stipulations shall be inserted in the Penal Code as section 287/1 and section 287/2 of Title 9 Offences relating to sexuality:

"Section⁠287/1.⁠Whoever possesses child pornography for sexual exploitation in favour of himself or another person, shall be punished with imprisonment not over five years, or a fine not over one hundred thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.

If the offender under paragraph 1 forwards the child pornography to another person, he shall be punished with imprisonment not over seven years, or a fine not over one hundred and forty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.

Section⁠287/2.⁠Whoever—

(1)⁠for purposes of trade or through trade, for distribution, or for exhibition to the public, creates, manufactures, possesses, brings into or causes to be brought into the Kingdom, sends out or causes to be sent out of the Kingdom, carries or causes to be carried to [any place], or circulates by any means child pornography;

(2)⁠conducts trade or takes part in or involves himself in trade relating to child pornography; distributes or exhibits to the public or hires out child pornography;

(3)⁠in order to help circulating or trading in child pornography, publishes or disseminates by any means the information that a person is committing an act which constitutes the offence under this section, or publishes or disseminates the information as to the person from whom or the way by which child pornography could be found;

shall be punished with imprisonment from three years to ten years and a fine from sixty thousand baht to two hundred thousand baht."

Countersignatory:
General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Possession of child pornography amounts to violation of fundamental rights of children according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is a factor contributing to sexual abuse of children and affecting the welfare of children. In addition, the offences relating to trading in or circulating obscene objects or materials do not distinguish child pornography from adult pornography, despite the fact that their criminal characteristics are of different degrees of severity. Accordingly, in order to furnish children with greater protection and prevention from sexual abuse, it is appropriate to designate the offences relating to trading in or circulating obscene objects or materials which are child pornography as offences for which offenders will be faced with higher punishment, and [it is appropriate] to criminalise the possession and forwarding of child pornography. Therefore, it is necessary to enact this Act.

Notes

1. It seems like the term watthu (Thai: วัตถุ), here translated as "object", is intended for a corporeal object, and the term sing (Thai: สิ่ง), here translated as "material", is intended for an incorporeal object. The bill which would become this Act was revised according to the opinion of the Office of the Attorney General of Thailand that watthu ("object") may only refer to a corporeal object (Cabinet Secretariat, 2015, p. 4). See the following comparison also:

   Version	Date	In Thai	Translation
   Bill as proposed by members of the National Legislative Assembly (Cabinet Secretariat, 2015, p. 16)	29 January 2015	(๑๖)⁠"สื่อลามกอนาจารของเด็ก" หมายความว่า วัตถุอันลามกที่แสดงให้เห็นถึงการกระทำทางเพศกับเด็ก หรือสามารถสื่อไปในทางลามกอนาจารเด็ก ทั้งนี้ ไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในรูปของเอกสาร ภาพเขียน ภาพพิมพ์ ภาพระบายสี สิ่งพิมพ์ ภาพโฆษณา เครื่องหมาย รูปถ่าย ภาพยนตร์ แถบบันทึกเสียง แถบบันทึกภาพ หรือวัตถุอื่นใดอันมีลักษณะในทำนองเดียวกัน และให้หมายความรวมถึง วัตถุต่าง ๆ ข้างต้นที่ถูกจัดเก็บไว้ในคอมพิวเตอร์หรือในอุปกรณ์อิเล็กทรอนิกส์อื่นใด ที่สามารถแปลงมาสู่ภาพหรือเสียงได้ ทั้งนี้ ไม่ว่าจะเก็บอยู่ในลักษณะถาวรหรือไม่ก็ตาม	(16)⁠"child's pornography" means obscene objects which allow to be seen a sexual act with a child or which can be imparted in an immodest manner [involving] a child, irrespective of whether they be in the format of documents, drawings, prints, paintings, printed materials, posters, signs, photographs, films, audio tapes, video tapes, or any other objects with similar characteristics, and shall include any of the aforementioned objects which are stored in a computer or in any other electronic device [and] which can be converted into picture or sound, regardless of whether or not they are kept in a permanent manner.
   Bill as revised by a select committee of the National Legislative Assembly (Senate Secretariat, 2015a, p. 13)	6 May 2015	(๑๗)⁠"สื่อลามกอนาจารเด็ก" หมายความว่า สิ่งที่แสดงให้รู้หรือเห็นถึงการกระทำทางเพศของเด็ก หรือกับเด็ก หรือต่อหน้าเด็ก ซึ่งมีอายุไม่เกินสิบแปดปี โดยรูป เรื่อง หรือลักษณะ สามารถสื่อไปในทางลามกอนาจาร ไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในรูปแบบของเอกสาร ข้อความ ภาพเขียน ภาพพิมพ์ ภาพระบายสี สิ่งพิมพ์ รูปภาพ ภาพโฆษณา เครื่องหมาย รูปถ่าย ภาพยนตร์ แถบบันทึกเสียง แถบบันทึกภาพ หรือรูปแบบอื่นใดในลักษณะทำนองเดียวกัน และให้หมายความรวมถึง สิ่งต่าง ๆ ข้างต้นที่จัดเก็บในระบบคอมพิวเตอร์หรือในอุปกรณ์อิเล็กทรอนิกส์อื่น ที่สามารถแสดงผลเป็นภาพ หรือข้อความ หรือเสียงได้	(17)⁠"child pornography" means materials which allow to be known or seen a sexual act of a child, or with a child, or in the presence of a child whose age is not over eighteen years, and the images, stories, or characteristics of which can be imparted in an immodest way, whether they be in the form of documents, text, drawings, prints, paintings, printed materials, pictures, posters, signs, photographs, films, audio tapes, video tapes, or in any other form with similar characteristics, and shall include any of the aforementioned materials which are stored in a computer system or in a different electronic device capable of displaying a result in [the form of] picture, or text, or sound.
   Bill as revised and approved by the National Legislative Assembly (Senate Secretariat, 2015b, p. 2)	30 June 2015	(๑๗)⁠"สื่อลามกอนาจารเด็ก" หมายความว่า วัตถุหรือสิ่งที่แสดงให้รู้หรือเห็นถึงการกระทำทางเพศของเด็กหรือกับเด็กซึ่งมีอายุไม่เกินสิบแปดปี โดยรูป เรื่อง หรือลักษณะสามารถสื่อไปในทางลามกอนาจาร ไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในรูปแบบของเอกสาร ภาพเขียน ภาพพิมพ์ ภาพระบายสี สิ่งพิมพ์ รูปภาพ ภาพโฆษณา เครื่องหมาย รูปถ่าย ภาพยนตร์ แถบบันทึกเสียง แถบบันทึกภาพ หรือรูปแบบอื่นใดในลักษณะทำนองเดียวกัน และให้หมายความรวมถึง วัตถุหรือสิ่งต่าง ๆ ข้างต้นที่จัดเก็บในระบบคอมพิวเตอร์หรือในอุปกรณ์อิเล็กทรอนิกส์อื่นที่สามารถแสดงผลให้เข้าใจความหมายได้	(17)⁠"child pornography" means objects or materials which allow to be known or seen a sexual act of a child or with a child whose age is not over eighteen years, and the images, stories, or characteristics of which can be imparted in an immodest way, whether they be in the form of documents, drawings, prints, paintings, printed materials, pictures, posters, signs, photographs, films, audio tapes, video tapes, or in any other form with similar characteristics, and shall include any of the aforementioned objects or materials which are stored in a computer system or in a different electronic device capable of displaying a comprehensible result".

2. Rup (Thai: รูป) can refer to (1) appearance, outward appearance; (2) shape, form, figure; (3) style, pattern; (4) format, design, structure; (4) picture, image. It is defined by Office of the Royal Society (2013) as "that which can be perceived with the eyes", amongst other things. Although this term has been inserted by a select committee of the National Legislative Assembly (see the comparison table above), no discussion about its meaning is found in any report of the committee (Senate Secretariat, 2015a).
3. According to Samnak-ngan Ratchabandittayasapha (2013), the term laksana (Thai: ลักษณะ) can mean (1) characteristic, feature, property; (2) type, kind, sort, class. Although this term has been inserted by a select committee of the National Legislative Assembly (see the comparison table above), no discussion about its meaning is found in any report of the committee (Senate Secretariat, 2015a).
4. Phapphim (Thai: ภาพพิมพ์) literally translates as "printed picture".
5. Samnak-ngan Ratchabandittayasapha (2013) defines the term rupphap (Thai: รูปภาพ) as "picture produced by drawing or painting, for example" and "(art) thing which appears on a surface, paper, wall, canvas, etc, as a result of drawing or painting".
6. Phapkhotsana (Thai: ภาพโฆษณา) literally translates as "publicity picture". It is a dated term, though still found in law, which refers to a poster.
7. Originally, "above".

Bibliography

Original

• "Phra Ratcha Banyat Kaekhaiphoemtoem Pramuan Kotmai Aya (Chabap Thi Yisip Si) Phoso Song Phan Ha Roi Hasip Paet" [Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 24), 2558 BE]. (2015, 8 September). Ratchakitchanubeksa [Royal Gazette], 132(86A), 84–86. (In Thai).

References

• Cabinet Secretariat (2015). Nangsue Duan Thisut Thi Noro Sun Ha Sun Sam Thap Chet Paet Sun Paet [Most Urgent Note No. Noro 0503/7808] (in Thai). 
• Senate Secretariat (2015a). Rai-ngan Khong Khanakammathikan Wisaman Phicharana Rang Phra Ratchabanyan Kaekaiphoemtoem Pramuan Kotmai Aya (Chabap Thi ..) Phoso .... Sapha Nitibanyat Haeng Chat [Report of the National Legislative Assembly’s Select Committee for the Consideration of the Bill Amending the Penal Code (No. ..), .... BE] (in Thai). 
• Senate Secretariat (2015b). Nangsue Duan Thisut Thi Sowo(Sonocho) Sun Sun Sun Chet Thap Sam Chet Hok Kao [Most Urgent Note No. Sowo(Sonocho) 0007/3769] (in Thai). 
• Office of the Royal Society (2013). Photchananukrom Chabap Ratchabandittayasathan Phoso Song Phan Ha Roi Hasip Si [Royal Institute Dictionary, 2554 BE] (in Thai).