In Singapore, we were ordered to surrender by command headquarters. Ordered, mind you.

5 seconds sound clip from the The Bridge on the River Kwai movie soundboard.

You can hear this line at 00:19:23.713 in the Blu-ray version of the movie.

Quote context

[...]

- Why haven't you tried to escape, commander?

- Oh, I've been biding my time. Waiting for the right moment, the right company.

- I understand how you feel.

- Of course, it's normally the duty of a captured soldier to attempt escape.

- But my men and I are involved in a curious legal point of which you are unaware.

- In Singapore, we were ordered to surrender by command headquarters. Ordered, mind you.

- Therefore, in our case, escape might well be an infraction of military law. Interesting?

- Yes. Interesting point, sir.

- I'm sorry, sir, I didn't quite follow you. You mean you intend to uphold the letter of the law, no matter what it costs?

- Without law, commander, there is no civilisation.

- That's just my point. Here, there is no civilisation.

- Then we have the opportunity to introduce it.

[...]