 On 13 December 1941, fearing the very real possibility of execution for being a magistrate and forbeing an officer of the Straits Settlements Volunteer Corps “C” Company, Lim Koon Teck and his family prepared to board a ferry and withdraw with the rest of the troops only to be refused entry and told that the ferry was for "whites" only.Cast aside and deserted by the Colonial masters he had long idolised, Lim Koon Teck could only watch as an entire contingent, including his former colleagues, left.By 16 December 1941, British Officialdom had left Penang.