Surinder Pal Singh Oberoi, a Dubai-based businessman, is popularly known as Saviour Singh for saving the lives of many Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos from death penalties. The Managing Trustee of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust, he has been a philanthropist for long. So much so that Oxford University has bestowed an honorary doctorate on him for it.
A native of Punjab, Oberoi had saved the lives of 10 Indians from death sentence in UAE a few years ago. It began when 10 Indian youth murdered a Pakistani man in UAE and were sentenced to death. But after realising their mistake, they pleaded mercy. Oberoi stepped in to help the convicts after the victim’s family accepted blood money amounting to 20,000 dirhams and agreed to pardon the convicts. According to him, it was a tough task to obtain pardon from the Pakistani family. He mentioned that his Pakistani manager traveled to Peshawar to speak with the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.
It was in 1992 that he moved to Dubai and began working in construction business. He is now the chairman of Apex Group of Companies with offices in Burj Khalifa and Dubai. After settling the UAE, he began dipping his toes into philanthropy. His philanthropy, which currently includes offices in Punjab providing pensions and job assistance, has expanded into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where he has opened dialysis units, established crèches, and donated computers for prison inmates.
He explained that he got involved in philanthropy after witnessing the conditions in a village in Punjab. “Many people lack money for food, medicine, or their children’s education. I’m doing very little,” he said.
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