After passing his civil service exam in 1904, J.R. took up various posts as controleur in the internal administration, notably in Borneo. In February 1907, his first son Rudolf was born. His civil service career soon began to unravel. He was granted medical leave to return from Borneo to Batavia in the spring of 1907, but people complained that he was often seen conducting subcontracting business in Tanjung Priok. There was soon a petition to dismiss him from the civil service, since he appeared to be recruiting and dispatching Coolies for a private company in Batavia while still on leave as a government employee. Other allegations surfaced that he had engaged in dubious currency exchanges while in office in Borneo; for that, he was called to court and eventually acquitted, but was discharged from public office. He later claimed that he had voluntarily resigned in June 1907.
