At that time, the government had only recently moved to Taiwan, and post-war reconstruction had not yet got under way. With so many "communist agents" and "traitors" under arrest, Yen shared a cell less than six square meters in area with over 20 other people, and they even had to take turns to lie down and sleep.
當時政府剛遷台不久，百廢待舉，加上大量逮捕的「匪諜」和「叛亂犯」，不到兩坪大的牢房關了二十多人，連睡覺都要輪流。