Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Criminal Law.
Article 61 When deciding the penalty, it shall be imposed in accordance with the facts, nature and circumstances of the crime and the degree of harm to society, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.
Article 62 If a criminal is given a heavier punishment or a lighter punishment as stipulated in this Law, he shall be sentenced to punishment within the limits of statutory punishment.
Article 63 If a criminal has the circumstances of mitigating punishment as stipulated in this Law, he shall be sentenced to a punishment less than the statutory punishment; If there are several sentencing ranges stipulated in this Law, the penalty shall be imposed within the next sentencing range of the statutory sentencing range.
Although criminals do not have mitigating circumstances as stipulated in this Law, according to the special circumstances of the case, with the approval of the Supreme People's Court, they may also be sentenced to a penalty below the statutory penalty.