There was an engineer called Berny Konings living in Batavia (currently Jakarta, Indonesia), but he was owner of a soda drinks factory. That company was distributor of Coca Cola from 1932 up to 1942 in the Netherlands Indies.
He was still in Indonesia after its independence. Last mention of him dates from 1957.
I am not sure if this is the same Berny Konings as mentioned in the article. It sure is a typical name that is not very common.