NOBODY knew what crossed Basri’s mind that morning. He kept peddling his becak (pedicab), while his wife Basse, 37, was lying sick and weak at home. She was 7 months pregnant.

Two of his four children, Bahir, 5, and Aco, 4, were also ill. “I’ve got to make a living,” said Basri, 35, with a deadpan expression Tuesday last week. “Otherwise, how can we eat?”

On Friday afternoon last week, Basri got the bad news from a fellow becak driv