In 1856, Sfez was driving his master's cart through the crowded streets of Tunis when he accidentally ran over and killed a Muslim child.[7][8] In the quarrel which followed, he apparently insulted Islam, which was a capital crime. There were plenty of witnesses who had heard Sfez curse his opponent and his religion, and who also testified that he was drunk at the time of the accident.[9] With a court case underway, the Jewish community offered a very large sum of money to secure Sfez's release.[10] However Shamama had previously incurred the Bey's displeasure by pressing him to deal with a case of a Muslim who had murdered a Jew.