A 71-year-old father has been arrested for fatally slashing his son’s throat with a knife several times because he changed the TV channel.

The elderly father then allegedly told neighbours that his 37-year-old son had tried to kill himself in their home in the area of Jalan Kemudi in the district of Hulu Selangor in the Malaysian state of Selangor on 3rd November.

According to local media, the father and son, names not reported, argued when the victim changed the TV channel, resulting in the elderly man pushing his son hard against a wall.

He then allegedly slashed his son’s throat three times with a knife he had grabbed from the kitchen.

Afterwards, the 71-year-old man asked a neighbour to call the police, claiming his son had tried to kill himself, according to the news site The Star.

Before calling the police himself, the suspect went to a local shop to report that his son was lying unconscious at home.

When the father got around to calling the local authorities, police spokesperson Arsad Kamaruddin said the suspect claimed he had found his son in the living room at around 1pm, lying motionless in a pool of blood.

Kamaruddin added: “However, our investigation found that the victim had deep slash wounds on his neck, which is not consistent with […] suicide.”

During questioning, the father reportedly admitted that he had had an argument with his son over which TV channel to watch.

Kamaruddin said that he “took a knife from the kitchen and tussled with his son, who ended up with three slash wounds on his neck”, adding that officers seized the suspected weapon and arrested the father.

The police also took the shirt and shorts worn by the father during the alleged attack.

Kamaruddin said: “The suspect has no past criminal records and he tested negative for drugs. He will be remanded for further investigation.”

The police are investigating the incident as murder under Section 302 of the Malaysian Penal Code.