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arrested before 11th June.
Would any normal wife not have felt compelled to remain beside her husband to comfort him
in his hour of need? Tven if the disgrace of his arrest was going to prove too much for her, why not leave Hong Kong on, say, the 12th June thereby having at least a few more days with her husband and having the opportunity to complete the
packing of their household effects?
When questioned by the Commission, the Lloyds saw
nothing in this approach. They saw nothing suspicious in
Irs. Godber leaving, and leaving in such a hurry. It appears
also that although Godber, during the search of his premises
on 4th June, had talked to his solicitor about resigning from
the service [not retiring Mr. Gunston was quite certain that Godber used the word "resign"] and although he had asked
Mr. Gunston for his advice as to the effect of the Fugitive
Offenders Act, according to the evidence of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd, Godber said nothing to them which gave either of them any idea
that he was about to leave Hong Kong.
There is nothing in Godber's letter of 10th June to Nr. Lloyd ("H" attached) which throws a different light on this aspect of the matter; and I an inclined to think that although Mr. Lloyd may have had his suspicions that Godber might leave Hong Kong before 11th June, Godber never actually said to his
friend in so many words that this was his intention. If he had done so, r. Lloyd's clear duty to the Force and to the public
would have been to inform his superiors immediately. His public
duty came before personal friendship; and Godber, as an experienced police officer, must have realised all that. He would never have
placed his friend in such an intolerable position.
If, however, ir. Lloyd was merely vaguely suspicious,
was he duty-bound to communicate his suspicions to his superiors
in the Force? r. Lloyd said that he never for one moment thought
that Godber was not under surveillance and that no matter what
Godber did, his movements would be observed by members of the
police. It would appear therefore that finding himself in a most
embarrassing situation having to balance his personal friendship
with Godber against what probably did not amount to more than a