Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun on Thursday said he is highly concerned about an abuse case at a care home and that the government will take serious follow-up actions.

The Hong Chi Association, which operates the facility, said in a statement on Wednesday that the case was discovered in August, and they immediately reported it to police and the Social Welfare Department.

The department confirmed the case on Wednesday.

Sun told reporters on Thursday that officials wanted to ensure that the alleged victims and their families were in a stable emotional state.

“We want to prevent them from experiencing further harm. Therefore we felt it was important to wait until their situation was stable before making the announcement,” he said.

“This is a matter of balance that we hope to achieve.”

The case involved a 38-year-old male staff member of the care home, who has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two residents while on duty.

The association said they terminated the employee, and will set up an independent review committee to evaluate protective measures for service users.