A 54-year-old male resident of the Spanish Town Infirmary yesterday died after he was allegedly stabbed by another inmate during an early morning fight.

Police have identified the dead man as Rocky Thomas, while his alleged killer - a crippled, 78-year-old man whose identity they have withheld - was taken into custody for questioning.

Police process the scene where 54-year-old Rocky Thomas collapsed and died after he was allegedly stabbed by another resident at the Spanish Town Infirmary in St Catherine yesterday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

According to the police, Thomas was stabbed once in his groin and succumbed to his injuries minutes later at about 5:30 am.

The police alleged that on Monday night Thomas threatened to kill the accused, who staff at the infirmary said suffers from arthritis and is unable to walk.

Thomas, they said, was however surprised when he allegedly returned early yesterday morning and tried to strangle the man who pulled a knife and stabbed him.

Thomas then ran into another room on the male dormitory where he collapsed and died, police said.

Mayor of Spanish Town Andrew Wheatley described the incident as a very sad and surprising one. He said it was the first such incident at the infirmary.

"It is really surprising to us 'cause none of our patients had any history of committing any violent attacks. It is really strange and it is a very sad day in the life of the infirmary," said Wheatley.

"We have already started counselling some of the staff members and other residents at the infirmary who might have been traumatised by the incident. At this time, however, we are waiting on the police to carry out their investigations into the details of the incident," he added, noting that he will be looking at ways to prevent a recurrence.

Yesterday, workers at the infirmary, including the house matron who refused to give her name, declined to speak to the media about the incident.