Blinking JLabel Applet throws a NPE after running for more than 20 hours

Applet throws a Null Pointer Exception (Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-2" java.lang.NullPointerException: HDC for component) after running for more than 20 hours.

Applet contains numerous Blinking JLabels

Here is the Exception.( in trace file)
Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-2" java.lang.NullPointerException: HDC for component
at sun.java2d.loops.DrawGlyphList.DrawGlyphList(Native Method)
at sun.java2d.pipe.SolidTextRenderer.drawGlyphList(Unknown Source)
at sun.java2d.pipe.GlyphListPipe.drawString(Unknown Source)
at sun.java2d.SunGraphics2D.drawString(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.java.swing.SwingUtilities2.drawString(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.java.swing.SwingUtilities2.drawStringUnderlineCharAt(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalButtonUI.paintText(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicButtonUI.paintText(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicButtonUI.paint(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalButtonUI.update(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.JComponent.paintComponent(Unknown Source)
at javax.swing.JComponent.paint(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.GraphicsCallback$PaintCallback.run(Unknown Source)
at sun.awt.SunGraphicsCallback.runOneComponent(Unknown Source)
at sun.awt.SunGraphicsCallback.runComponents(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Container.paint(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Container.update(Unknown Source)
at sun.awt.RepaintArea.updateComponent(Unknown Source)
at sun.awt.RepaintArea.paint(Unknown Source)
at sun.awt.windows.WComponentPeer.handleEvent(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForHierarchy(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source)


Applet Location:
http://sqindia.india.sun.com/~rn195728/TC03_01/TC03-01_Top.html

How to reproduce. ( You need to install MKS on this system or rewrite the scripts to bat)
1. Unzip the the attached yokogawa.zip file to a dir say C:\temp
2. cd C:\temp\yokogawa
3. set the TEST_JRE_HOME env. variable
e.g. set TEST_JRE_HOME=c:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_11
4. sh tc3_001.sh
This test case will launch an applet and will run for 24 hours. You can custmize the duration to run by changing "-timeout" value in
yokogawa.sh script.

Output directory also can be customized by changing "-outputdir"
TestCase URL can be hosted on a local system and customize it by changing the yokogawa.sh script.
Trace and log file will be located under outputdir by defalut (from where you are running)
iexplore.csv will contain the handle count, thread count, privite bytes and working set counter values at various points for iexplore.exe
process.