PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The senior citizen who was caught on video driving against traffic on a highway in Malaysia suffers from dementia and hearing difficulties.

Petaling Jaya police chief Mohd Zani Che Din said the suspect, a 76-year-old man, was a retired contractor.

"His two sons brought him to the Petaling Jaya Traffic division at about 8pm on Friday (Jan 19) and we have since recorded his statement.

"We discovered that the man has dementia and trouble hearing. He also often gets lost when venturing out from his home," he said when contacted on Saturday, adding that the man has been released on police bail.

The five-minute clip which went viral on social media shows the car on the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) in Petaling Jaya heading towards oncoming traffic near Taman Dato Harun.

Other motorists can be heard in the video shouting at the driver, but the elderly man drives even faster.

NPE patrol personnel are then seen ordering the man to stop but he ignores their instructions.

The video ends with patrol personnel successfully stopping the vehicle, while shouting and knocking on the window on the driver's side.