A 55-year-old daily wage labourer stabbed his son to death in his house on Dharmaraja Koil Street in Thirunindravur on Sunday night.
Sundaramoorthy was upset with his eldest son, Balamurugan (28), a heavy vehicles driver, who was an alcoholic. Balamurugan constantly pawned or sold off household items to buy alcohol, the police said.
He would return home in a drunken rage and assault his wife Dhanalakshmi. The couple lived a block away from Sundaramoorthy and his younger son Durgabalan (18).
Around 6.30 p.m. on Sunday, Balamurugan came home drunk and asked his wife to lend money for more alcohol. When he began hitting her, Sundaramoorthy and Durgabalan intervened.
Balamurugan then attempted to take away the registration certificate of his moped from a safe in the house. This infuriated Sundaramoorthy who took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed his son in the stomach.
Other family members rushed Balamurugan to a government hospital nearby but he died on the way, the Thirunindravur police said.
Sundaramoorthy was arrested on charges of murder and remanded in judicial custody on Monday.
