As the solstice sun began to sink behind the misty hills of Pertak on June 22, a wild-eyed Rafik Benut staggered towards Lot 22, Kampung Pertak, Selangor, brandishing a bunch of keys and a parang. No one made an attempt to stop him as he let himself into the house after a bit of fumbling with the keys. Even the dogs gave him a wide berth. Rafik was well-known for his violent outbursts, especially when intoxicated.

About three years ago, Rafik had suddenly reappeared in the village, having served a six-year jail sentence for chopping up the headman's 19-year-old daughter and attempting to burn the gory evidence. The headman, Bida Chik, asked that Rafik be relocated to another community but the JHEOA (Orang Asli Affairs Department) overrode his protests. Rafik was a reformed man, they asserted, and furthermore had converted to Islam while in prison.

For months he had been coveting this house, which belonged to his uncle Selindar Babot (who was involved in the love triangle with Rafik and Bida's daughter which ended in bloodshed and grief). Selindar shared the house with two other old bachelors - Utat and Uja - but all three preferred to live 40 minutes away in a rundown shanty overlooking the river.

Since they weren't comfortable in the new three-bedroom chalet-style house built by the dam consortium as part of the resettlement scheme, the old men had agreed to let some friends from Kuala Lumpur use it as a weekend retreat - in exchange for a monthly food allowance of RM100 each.

All parties were happy with this arrangement - except for a particular faction in the village who had been groomed to serve as the eyes and ears of the JHEOA.

When the Selangor Dam project was announced in late 1998, Bida had been outspoken in his criticism. He openly supported the No-Dam campaign, much to the consternation of the JHEOA.

Eventually, Bida was pacified and "turned around" with generous presents and veiled threats by agents of the dam consortium - but he was now regarded as an uncooperative party by the JHEOA which began to cultivate a special relationship with Bida's deputy, Uha anak Penengah.