The final whistle sparked angry scenes of protest, inside and outside the ground, sparked off by the extraordinary substitution of goalkeeper Nathan Abbey eight minutes from time.
Abbey's six-month contract runs out this week, he's turned down another short-term deal, and he was taken off by Czech manager Lubos Kubik and replaced by local teenager Martin Horsell in the closing stages.
By that stage the Dons were cruising to victory. They hardly had to break sweat after first-half goals by Clive Platt and Izale McLeod saw them comfortably in charge.
Platt swept past Torquay defender Lee Andrews before blasting home in the 27th minute. And leading scorer McLeod tucked home his 18th goal of the season 12 minutes later, after he had been tripped by Stev Angus.
Demoralised Torquay, bereft of confidence, offered little threat of a fightback in the second half, while the Dons were able to make a series of substitutions as manager Martin Allen rested key men for important forthcoming games.
McLeod, who was unlucky not to win at least one more penalty, was taken off after picking up a booking, replaced by Scott Taylor after only 55 minutes.
The second half was played out to increasingly angry chanting from the home fans, which spilled over into clear protest after Abbey left to a standing ovation in the 82nd minute.
Macclesfield's 3-0 win at Chester dropped Torquay to the bottom of the League Two table on goal-difference.
And Torquay and Macclesfield meet in what is a real relegation six-pointer at Plainmoor on Saturday.