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Watch: Ice Cream Wars? Maltese Van Tailgates Competitor Until Transport Malta Steps In

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In the latest instalment of an ongoing sticky saga, a Maltese ice cream truck was captured tailgating and giving the middle finger to a local competitor as the traditional ice cream tune blares loudly.

Stef Debattista, who owns ‘The Little Dessert Van’ went live on Facebook yesterday at around noon, with the video already racking up over 3,000 views, as he was seemingly being chased by another ice cream truck.

“I was being chased and followed from Mistra Bay to Mellieħa Bay – he was tailgating me dangerously and putting his ice cream music on full volume continuously,” Debattista told Lovin Malta.

 

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“He was coming towards Mistra as I was leaving from Mistra already having sold a few ice creams. He told me, ‘Don’t go everywhere’ and I thought he was joking and I laughed. Clearly, he was angry,” Debattista said.

“Luckily a Transport Malta officer pulled us over to see what was going on if it wasn’t for the TM officer he would have followed me all day I think.”

“He was acting crazy, not how you should behave as an ice cream man who serves children,” he said, with the man also being heard calling him names.

The moment that a TM officer pulled the two vans over was also caught in Debattista’s live stream, as the officer attempted to mediate the situation.

“The only reason for it is because I am his competitor. I have soft ice cream from the machine with three flavours and also a slush machine, and I change my menu regularly to keep it updated,” he said.

On the live video, ‘La Gelateria Tanti’, which is the company that owns the van that was driving behind Debattista, can also be seen leaving middle finger emojis as comments.

Lovin Malta spoke to Alex Tanti from Renato Tanti, who claimed that while he was not the one driving the van, there’s more to the story than what the video shows. 

“We’ve been having this fight with him for over seven years, there was more to the story than that video shows,” Tanti told Lovin Malta.

“My worker has been putting up with him for a year and a half. He tries to scare my workers and they end up not wanting to work,” Tanti explained, suggesting that more happened before the live stream started.

“He’s trying to give us a bad name, but it won’t affect us because we’ve been around for 120 years, everyone knows what kind of people we are,” Tanti told Lovin Malta. 

“This is all childish to me, he’s desperate to keep up with competitors like us,” he said.

Tanti also claimed that Debattista has often tried chasing them and passing by to give them the middle finger.

What do you make of this sticky situation?

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Sasha is a writer, creator, and podcast host interested in environmental matters, humans, and art. Some know her as Sasha tas-Sigar. Inspired by nature and the changing world. Follow her on Instagram at @saaxhaa and send her your stories at [email protected]

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