It was in this tumultuous environment that on February 27 an incident occurred involving an overzealous inspection officer looking for smuggled cigarettes. In error, people were wounded and killed, leading to a huge uproar the next day. At the instigation of agitators the unrest quickly spread to the entire island.
在這種動盪的氛圍下，2 月 27 日，一件查緝私煙的事件，竟因查緝員執法過當，誤傷民眾致死而引發軒然大波，在有心人士鼓動下，暴亂迅速遍及全台。