A man is dead and his brother, aged 29, is behind bars after the two allegedly got into a fight over an injured dog on Sunday.

Free State police spokesperson Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring says the Harrismith police were called out to a local hospital at around 03:45 where two men were admitted following a violent altercation. They both reside on the same farm in the Ha-Mafutha Farm district in Warden.

Mophiring says the suspect accused his brother of injuring his dog, resulting in the fight. In the process, one brother was stabbed in the head and upper arm with a sharp object while the other was beaten with a stick causing injuries on his one hand.

The brother who sustained the stab wounds was still conscious when he arrived at the hospital but succumbed to his wounds while he was treated. As a result, the second brother was arrested and charged with murder.

He is set to appear in the Warden Magistrate’s Court today.

*Although police disclosed the deceased’s name, he cannot be named yet because it might identify his brother, who has not appeared in court at the time of publishing.