They said the 55-year-old man came home drunk last night, picked up a quarrel with his wife, son and daughter over a trivial issue.
Angered by his behaviour his 18-year-old son picked up a wooden log and hit him on his head. The man was immediately rushed to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital where he died without responding to treatment.
The boy has been arrested and would soon be produced before a magistrate court, police said.