A man who alleges he was bashed by a police sergeant in the question room of a station in eastern Victoria pleaded guilty to assaulting the same officer a decade earlier, a committal hearing is told.

Key points: Mr Boadel suffered serious injuries and was flown to hospital in Melbourne for treatment after he was allegedly beaten by Sergeant Andrew David Scott

Mr Boadel suffered serious injuries and was flown to hospital in Melbourne for treatment after he was allegedly beaten by Sergeant Andrew David Scott A committal hearing in Bairnsdale today heard the pair had come to blows years previously, when Mr Boadel assaulted the officer

A committal hearing in Bairnsdale today heard the pair had come to blows years previously, when Mr Boadel assaulted the officer Mr Boadel said despite his guilty plea back then he did not attack or threaten Sergeant Scott, but could not afford to fight the charges

Sergeant Andrew David Scott was accused of beating Mallacoota man Graham Boadel in a question room at the Mallacoota police station in September 2017.

Mr Boadel suffered internal injuries so severe he needed to be flown to hospital in Melbourne for treatment — a six-hour drive from his home town.

Sergeant Scott is facing five charges, including recklessly causing injury and two counts of assault.

A committal hearing at the Bairnsdale Magistrates' Court heard Sergeant Scott and Mr Boadel had a mutual dislike for each other, developed over many years.

Mr Boadel lodged a complaint against police officers at Mallacoota, including Sergeant Scott, about a week before he was allegedly bashed inside the station.

"He doesn't like me and I don't like him," Mr Boadel told the court.

Graham Boadel was flown to hospital in Melbourne with internal injuries. ( ABC Gippsland: Emma Field )

"I wouldn't have a problem with him if he didn't beat me up."

Sergeant Scott was suspended from his job after the alleged September 2017 assault.

The committal hearing was told the pair came to blows a decade earlier.

In November 2007, Mr Boadel served a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting and threatening to kill Sergeant Scott.

Under questioning from Sergeant Scott's lawyer Jason Gullachi, Mr Boadel said despite his guilty plea he did not attack or threaten the police officer.

He said he just could not afford to fight the charges.

"I ran out of money, so yes I did [plead guilty]," Mr Boadel said.

The alleged victim claimed the sergeant treated him roughly and pepper sprayed him without reason.

'You're going to pay'

Mr Boadel was arrested by Sergeant Scott and Senior Constable Richard Preston on September 14 after he refused to attend the police station voluntarily to be interviewed about the breach of an intervention order.

The court heard Senior Constable Preston made an audio recording of this arrest.

Mr Gullachi, reading from a transcript of this recording, said Mr Boadel was abusive and swore at the arresting officers and told them "you're going to pay for this".

Mr Boadel said he could not recall being abusive, however he alleged during the arrest Sergeant Scott was rough and "threw him against the [police] car" while handcuffed.

Mr Boadel was taken to the Mallacoota police station where he requested to speak to a more senior officer and demanded to see his lawyer.

After questioning him, the officers decided to keep him in custody over the lunch break.

They asked Mr Boadel to remove his shoes and belt to prevent self-harm, but he was upset with this request and told court he dropped the shoe on the ground.

But the defence lawyer refuted this, saying Mr Boadel's own police statement said he threw his runner.

"As to whether the shoes were thrown or dropped, that's when all hell broke loose," Mr Gullachi said.

It was alleged Mr Boadel told Sergeant Scott he was "going to jail". ( ABC News: Emma Field )

This is when Mr Boadel claims Sergeant Scott threw him against a wall of the stations interview room, punched him in the back of the head and while on the floor broke his ribs by kneeing him in the chest.

"I was in so much pain, I knew I was in trouble" Mr Boadel said.

"I felt a hard knock to the back of my head and then a knee in my back, I was bawling my eyes out with pain."

The court also heard Mr Boadel was a social cannabis smoker, but he could not recall if he had smoked the drug the month prior to the alleged assault.

Claims of abuse on eve of hearing

The defence also raised an allegation that on Sunday, the night before the committal hearing, Mr Boadel approached Sergeant Scott at the Bairnsdale RSL and "released a tirade of abuse against him".

Mr Gullachi alleged he told the police officer he was "going to jail".

"It was not a barrage … I called him an arsehole and said stop smiling," Mr Boadel said.

Mr Gullachi also asked Mr Boadel if he ever called Sergeant Scott a "corrupt cop", threatened to seriously harm him or threatened the police officer's family.

Mr Boadel said these claims were "not correct".

The matter was investigated by the Victoria Police Professional Standards Command.