Trouble getting large objects

I have a PostgreSQL 6.4.2 database running on SuSE Linux 6.1
I am trying to get a Large Object using the JDBC driver extensions for
large objects.  When I call the read method it reads the data correctly,
but it closes the backend, so all the client connections to the server are
broken.
I tried using the ODBC driver and get the same behavior.
Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks,
Vegeta