Translation:Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 30), 2568 BE
Table of contents
- Act
- Preamble
- Section
- Title
- Commencement
- Amendment to section 1: definition of "sexual intercourse"
- Amendment to section 1: definition of "sexual harassment"
- Repeal of section 278, paragraphs 2–4: sexual offences
- Repeal of section 279, paragraphs 4–7: sexual offences
- Amendment to section 281: sexual offences
- Insertion of section 284/1: sexual harassment
- Amendment to section 397: bullying
- Statement of grounds
Volume 142Issue 90A
Royal Gazette
29 December 2568
Criminal Code Amendment
Act (No 30),
2568 BE
Phrabat Somdet Phra Paramenthra
Ramathipbodi Sisinthra Maha Vajiralongkorn
Phra Wachiraklao Chaoyuhua
Given on the 28th day of December 2568 BE
Being the 10th year of the present reign
His Majesty King Ramathipbodi Sisinthra Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Wachiraklao Chaoyuhua is pleased to give a Great Royal Command that it be announced as follows:
Whereas it is appropriate to amend the Criminal Code;
Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, He is graciously pleased to enact the following Act:
Section1.This Act is called the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 30), 2568 BE.
Section2.This Act shall enter into operation from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.
Section3.The disposition of (18) of section 1 of the Criminal Code, which has been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 27), 2562 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following disposition:
“(18)‘sexual intercourse’ means the act done to gratify the lust of the doer, in which the genital organ of the doer is used to penetrate the genital organ, anus, or oral cavity of another person, or a different organ of the doer or an object is used to penetrate the genital organ or anus of another person, or another person is caused to perform a similar act with the doer; however, the causing of another person to perform an act does not include the event in which such other person penetrates with a different organ or with an object the genital organ or anus of the doer, and the genital organ shall include one acquired through surgery”.
Section4.The following disposition shall be inserted in the Criminal Code as (19) of section 1:
“(19)‘sexual harassment’ means the conduct of sexual nature committed against another person in a physical or verbal form or by emission of sounds, expression of movements or gestures, making of contacts or communications, monitoring, stalking, or any [other] means, which includes the utilisation of a computer system, telecommunications device, or other electronic device capable of displaying comprehensible results, in a manner likely to subject such other person to annoyance, humiliation, despisal, fear, or sexual unsafety”.
Section5.Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of section 278 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 27), 2562 BE, shall be repealed.
Section6.Paragraphs 4, 5, 6, and 7 of section 279 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 27), 2562 BE, shall be repealed.
Section7.The disposition of section 281 of the Criminal Code, which has been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 27), 2562 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following disposition:
“Section281.The offences under the following sections are compoundable:
(1)section 276, paragraph 1, when committed between spouses and not occurring in the presence of others or not causing serious harm or death to the victim;
(2)section 278, when not occurring in the presence of others, not causing serious harm or death to the victim, or not committed against any of the persons specified in sections 285 and 285/2.”
Section8.The following dispositions shall be inserted in the Criminal Code as sections 284/1, 284/2, 284/3, and 284/4:
“Section284/1.Whoever commits sexual harassment against another person shall, if it does not constitute an offence of indecency, be punished with imprisonment of not over one year, or a fine of not over twenty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
If the offence under paragraph 1 is committed continuously or more than once and causes another person to be unable to live normally, the punishment shall be imprisonment of not over two years, or a fine of not over forty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
If the offence under paragraph 1 or 2 is committed in a public place, in the presence of others, or in a computer system accessible by the general public, the punishment shall be imprisonment of not over three years, or a fine of not over sixty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
If an offence under this section is committed against a child who is not older than fifteen years, whether with or without the consent of that child, the punishment shall be imprisonment of not over five years, or a fine of not over one hundred thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
The offences under paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 are compoundable.
Section284/2.If an offence under section 284/1 is committed by exploiting the superior power which the offender has over the victim due to his role as a commander, employer, or other superior, the punishment shall be imprisonment of not over three years, or a fine of not over sixty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
Section284/3.In a sexual harassment case, if the court learns by itself or from a proposal of a public prosecutor, the instituting party, the injured party, or an officer that there is a circumstance to believe that the accused party would keep committing sexual harassment against or disturbing the normal life of the injured party, the court may order prohibition of the accused party from doing any acts according to the conditions and during the time period designated by the court, but not over two years, whether or not the accused party is punished by the court.
The accused party who contravenes the prohibition ordered by the court in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be punished with imprisonment of not over six months, or a fine of not over ten thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.
Section284/4.When the offence of sexual harassment under section 284/1, paragraph 3, is committed by inputting data of obscene nature into a computer system accessible by the general public, the court, after finding this out from an examination held upon a motion of the injured party or an officer, may order the person making the input to terminate the circulation of the data and remove it from the computer system within a time period designated by the court for the purpose of maintaining peace and order or good morals of the people, and if necessary, it may order the person controlling or providing a computer system service to terminate the circulation of the data and remove it from the computer system within a time period designated by the court, or may order a competent official empowered by the law concerned to implement its order and submit a report to it for its information within fifteen days.
The person making the input or any person controlling or providing a computer system service who contravenes the court order under paragraph 1 shall be punished with imprisonment of not over six months, or a fine of not over ten thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.”
Section9.The dispositions of section 397 of the Criminal Code, which have been amended by the Criminal Code Amendment Act (No 22), 2558 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following dispositions:
“Section397.Whoever commits against another person in any manner an act of bullying, oppressing, menacing, or subjecting to humiliation or annoyance, shall be punished with a fine of not over ten thousand baht.
If the offence under paragraph 1 is committed in a public place or in the presence of others, the punishment shall be imprisonment of not over one month, or a fine of not over ten thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.”
Countersignature
Anutin Charnvirakul
Prime Minister
Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: At present, sexual offences are committed in various forms against persons of every age and sex, including persons with sexual diversity, and they cause physical and mental injury to the victims, making it appropriate to amend the definition of “sexual intercourse” and add the definition of “sexual harassment” to cover the offences under various circumstances. In addition, sexual harassment problems are now increasing and becoming severer, but the law merely criminalise them as petty offences of causing annoyance, which do not yet directly agree with the nature of sexual harassment, making it appropriate to designate sexual harassment as criminal offences with a view to punishing offenders and suppressing the increasing commission thereof, and to establish safety measures with a view to protecting the society from sexual harassment problems. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.
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