An RCMP officer in Merritt, B.C. faces the rare charge of torture, after he allegedly beat an aboriginal man in 2005.

Last year, Const. Saxon Peters was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of obstructing justice, unlawful confinement after the alleged beating.

Earlier this week, Crown prosecutor Stephen Harrison dropped the confinement charge and replaced it with the Criminal Code offence of torture.

"He used his knees and his hands, so I got busted ribs down the side," Glen Shuter, the alleged victim, told CTV British Columbia that year.

Shuter claimed he encountered three officers in downtown Merritt, B.C., who accused him of stealing another officer's bicycle. He said they placed him inside their cruiser and drove him 10 kilometres outside the city, before telling him to get out.

Shuter alleged that Peters then struck him repeatedly while the other officers watched.

"He hit me about six times, I'd say. The force he used was pretty crazy," Shuter claimed to CTV Vancouver in 2005.

He then walked back to Merritt, where he checked himself into a hospital.

The RCMP ordered an investigation into the incident one week later. The report was then turned over to Crown counsel and the original charges were laid.

Saxon remains on suspension with pay. His next court appearance is in March.

The Criminal Code section defines torture as an official intentionally inflicting "severe pain or suffering" on someone.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Janet Dirks