KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 -- Police have summoned 42 individuals to assist in the ongoing probe into a controversial front-page illustration in Sin Chew Daily that omitted the crescent moon from the Malaysian flag.

Free Malaysia Today reported Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay as saying the number of people called in to give statements is expected to grow.

"Investigations are ongoing and 40 police reports have been lodged. We have also summoned 42 witnesses (to give their statements)," he reportedly said today.

The investigation centres on Sin Chew Daily's April 15 edition, which featured an image of the Jalur Gemilang with a missing crescent moon - an error the publication later described as a "technical mistake"...