Under the pretense of trying to catch the thief, the general is hurting many innocent people, and a group of my very good friends. If I give him the thief, he'll have to stop hurting them.

12 seconds sound clip from the The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) movie soundboard.

You can hear this line at 01:01:18.058 in the Blu-ray version of the movie.

Quote context

[...]

- Well, I need a favor from you, old man.

- Of course. But first, I need your help.

- And my two associates, they're here to guard the Pink Panther.

- When you've finished your drink, you will hand it over, please.

- But I haven't got it.

- But you took it!

- Oh, I wish I had, truly. But I didn't, I swear it.

- Normally, I'm a man who detests violence, but in your case I'm forced to make a most regrettable exception.

- Would it upset you too much to explain why?

- Under the pretense of trying to catch the thief, the general is hurting many innocent people, and a group of my very good friends. If I give him the thief, he'll have to stop hurting them.

- Of course, if you didn't steal the Panther, one might almost conclude that the general, in order to get rid of his political enemies, engineered the robbery himself.

- Oh, I bet he even offered a reward.

- A considerable reward: Dead or alive.

- And if you are dead...

- I can't prove I didn't steal the Pink Panther.

- I knew you'd figure it out.

[...]