diff --git a/src/SybaseDB.js b/src/SybaseDB.js
index 5b825ea..2967fdf 100644
--- a/src/SybaseDB.js
+++ b/src/SybaseDB.js
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Sybase.prototype.query = function(sql, callback)
     
     this.currentMessages[msg.msgId] = msg;
 
-    this.javaDB.stdin.write(strMsg + "\n");
+    this.javaDB.stdin.write(strMsg + "\n", this.encoding);
     this.log("sql request written: " + strMsg);
 };